A Rose By Any Other Name
by SprouseGoose
Summary: A joint collaboration by SprouseGoose and Creddie Cailey.  As they say, there was never a story of more woe than the story of Bailey and her Co...dy.
1. Gift of a Friend

_Chapter 1_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create.  
_

In the summer of 1998, life looked pretty good. This was especially true at the end of Sycamore Street in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the end of a cul de sac were two houses that sat side by side. In one house lived the Martin family – Kurt, Carey and their twin five year old twin sons, Zack and Cody. In the house next door lived the Pickett family – George, Sally and their nine daughters with one more on the way. If you asked the two mothers which house was the most chaotic, both would declare without a doubt it was theirs.

The two families were extremely close. In fact, George and Kurt worked together for the same company in Kansas City. George had moved away from the family farm to make it on his own. Kurt had given up his desire for a career in music when his sons were on the way. And the two mothers were close as well as both had been pregnant at the same time – Carey with her twin boys and Sally with her daughter Bailey. In fact, to get an idea of just how close the families were, both Carey and Sally had gone into labor on the exact same day.

The mothers had laughed that their children would probably be as close as siblings growing up. Well, they were half right. Zack wanted absolutely nothing to do with what he perceived to be icky girls. So, he focused on playing with several of the boys down the street. However, Cody and Bailey were the best of friends from the very beginning. As they grew older, it never occurred to them that people would think it was weird that their best friend was of the other sex. It didn't matter to them. They were like two peas in a pod even from the beginning. They would share pacifiers. They would take nap time together. They even shared the occasional bath time together.

Growing up, they were inseparable. Both mothers thought it was adorable, and on more than a few occasions, mused that they might be in-laws someday. This isn't to say that everyone thought it was cute. Zack loved to tease them constantly. He was always pulling on Bailey's pigtails or doing something else devious to torture them. However, Cody began to fight back and often the two twins would end up in scrapes over it.

To Cody, Bailey was his best friend, and if anyone had a problem with that, then he would deal with them. And to Bailey, Cody was her best friend and loved that he would stand up for her. They were always together except when one of their mothers would call them in for dinner or for bedtime. Many a day, they would go on nature walks together around their backyards, and both were fascinated by the littlest of things. It would be safe to say that early on, both had a thirst for knowledge, and it make them both feel good that their best friend shared that with them. And both were completely honest with each other always asking the other questions about anything and everything.

However, the one thing neither would tell the other was that they both secretly had crushes on the other. Bailey didn't want to say anything because she feared losing her best friend. In a house with eight other sisters and another on the way, she found it rare to be the center of attention. But she always felt that when she was with Cody, she was special. And Cody always appreciated the fact that Bailey treated him as an individual person instead of half of a set. He always felt like she made him feel special and unique too.

Life looked pretty good to the both of them. It was the summer before they were going to begin kindergarten, and both were excited as could be. They couldn't stop talking about going to school together. Of course, this lead to Zack making fun of them even more, but they didn't care.

However, something was about to happen to throw their lives completely upside down. It seems the company that George and Kurt worked for was having some problems. Downsizing was the only option it had, and according the higher ups, they were only going to keep one of the two men. Both were made aware of this, and both took it hard. But, each had a family to support and busted their humps to make sure they were the one kept. This added tension to the friendship. Finally, both felt that the other was trying to one up or sabotage the other's work. Tempers flared and hurtful words were said.

Neither Cody or Bailey were old enough to understand what was really going on, they both just knew their dads looked really unhappy. And they heard their dads talking bad about the other's dad. They both wanted to yell at their dads and tell them to play nice, but never could find the time to do so. Cody often found George glaring at him when he would be playing with Bailey, and Bailey found Kurt doing the same to her. But that didn't matter to them. Their best friend was worth it.

Finally, the company made their decision, and it was Kurt. This caused even more arguments as George took the fact that he was now unemployed personally. He forbid Bailey to fraternize with Cody, and Kurt did the same with Cody. But again, neither cared. They would sneak away as often they could just to be together. To them, nothing was going to interfere with their friendship.

However, with George out of work, the Pickett family had to make a tough decision. George wasn't having much luck finding a new job that would let him support his large family as he had before. He and Sally spent many late nights talking, and finally agreed that their only option was to move back to the family farm in his hometown of Kettlecorn. That night, they gathered their children and broke the news to them. Their daughters didn't like it, but none of them took it harder than Bailey. She immediately ran out of the house. And there was only one place she was going – to find Cody. And she found him in his backyard.

With tears in her eyes, she dragged Cody to a special place that they thought was their own. Cody was scared because Bailey was crying and he didn't know what to do. So, he did the only thing he could think of – he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry. Finally, Bailey was able to get her emotions under check and she was finally able to get out what her parents had just said. Cody was horrified.

"Bailey...I won't let them take you away..."

Bailey wiped her tears and just looked at her best friend. "How?"

Cody paused. He didn't know the answer to that one. "I don't know...We'll...we'll...we'll run away together!"

That brought a smile to Bailey's young face. "Really?"

Cody nodded. He would do anything for her. "Yeah...I mean, it can't be that hard, right?"

"Where will we go?"

"We'll go to Never Never Land...That way we don't have to grow up and become like our dads!"

"I don't want to end up like that, Cody..."

"Me either, Bails..."

Bailey had to smile. "Bails?"

Cody blushed. "I...uhhh...I..."

"Its okay. I kinda like it..."

"Don't worry, Bailey...We'll take care of each other."

Bailey just looked in Cody's eyes and she believed him. "Lets do it..."

"When do you want to leave?"

"Monday morning...that way they won't look for us until dinnertime..."

Cody nodded. "Deal..."

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bails..."

"Thank you..."

Cody smiled. "What are best friends for?"

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Cody..." She leaned in and hugged him again.

Both thought their plan was foolproof. However, they were only five and had a lot to learn about the world. Bailey's parents weren't wasting time. They were leaving to head back to Kansas on Monday unbeknownst to their daughter. While Bailey had snuck out to see Cody again, Sally packed up all of her things. A U-Haul trailer was filled with all of their belongings and they were ready to leave.

On Monday morning, Bailey was woken up by her mother telling her that she needed to get up as they were leaving soon. Bailey began to panic. She was supposed to run away with Cody today! She couldn't leave now. But, she wasn't given much of a choice. Bailey kept looking for a way to get to Cody, but her father was watching her like a hawk. Finally, the last bag was packed and put in the station wagon.

Bailey was crying again as she saw nothing she could do. Knowing she was out of options, she finally begged her father the chance to say goodbye to Cody. George wasn't happy about it, but he finally let her go. Bailey ran out the back door and over to the Martin backyard. There, she found Cody waiting on her.

"What happened? You were supposed to be here hours ago!"

Bailey was still crying though.

"Bails? What's wrong?"

"Cody, we're moving today!"

"Noooo...No, you can't...We'll leave right now!"

"Cody, we can't...My Dad said I had five minutes to say goodbye to you..."

"Bailey, I don't want to say goodbye to you...I...I..."

Bailey just threw her arms around Cody's neck. "I'm going to miss you so much Cody...Promise me we'll write each other all the time..."

Cody felt a lump growing in his throat. "I promise, Bails..."

"And promise when we're older that no one will ever keep us apart again..."

"I promise that too..."

Bailey pulled back and just looked at Cody. "Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you will wait for me and won't ever forget me..."

"Bails, I could never forget you...I'll wait for you for as long as I have to..."

Bailey nodded as more tears rolled down her face. "I have to go now..."

Cody couldn't seem to find the words and watched as Bailey turned and began to walk away. But he knew he had to say something. "Bailey!"

She turned around to face him and Cody made up the distance between them.

"Bailey..."

"What is it, Cody?"

"I...ummm...I..." Cody couldn't find the words, so he just acted. He leaned in and kissed her.

To Cody, it was the most amazing feeling in the world. To Bailey, once she got over her initial surprise, she never wanted to stop. But they had to when Bailey heard her father calling her name. They just looked at each other one last time before Bailey turned and ran away.

Both had tears in their eyes wondering if they would ever see their best friend ever again.

_To be Continued..._


	2. Flash Forward

_Chapter 2_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Cody Martin once again settled into the room that he shared with Zack in the Boston Tipton. Kurt has been transferred to Boston not long after the Picketts had moved to Kettlecorn. Carey had gotten a job as the in house singer at the hotel. Not only did it give them an extra income, it also came with a free two bedroom suite on the 23rd floor of the hotel. Cody sighed and took out one of his most prized possessions ever. He took out half of a medallion. The other half he had given to Bailey when they were about four. Cody sighed again. Ten long years without hearing a single thing from her. He missed her dearly._  
_

_Flashback: _

_"Cody, we're best friends forever right?" Bailey asked him. They were in their tree house. Their special place in a tree in Cody's backyard. _

_"Of course. Why would you even ask that?" Cody said. _

_"Well, it's just that our dad's have been fighting a lot lately. I'm scared that they're trying to separate us." Bailey said hanging her feet on the ladder. _

_"Here." Cody said as he picked up a rock. He took off his medallion and broke it in half. _

_"Cody! That's your mothers medallion!" Bailey said. _

_"I want you to have it. It shows how much you mean to me. And that we will always be best friends forever. No matter what our fathers think." Cody said. _

_"You're the best Cody." Bailey said giving him a tight hug. _

"Oh Bailey. Why haven't you been answering any of my letters?" Cody sighed.

"Talking to yourself again?" Zack asked walking into the room carrying a pizza for the both of them.

"Dad working late at the company again?" Cody sighed.

"Yeah. That's all he does now." Zack sighed. "It's like he totally forgot about us. Plus Mom has a performance tonight to rehearse for..."

"Zack..." Cody said. "Look. I know your more of a daddy's boy than am I. But we got each other. We don't need him around to have fun anymore." Cody said smiling.

"Very true." Zack said. "Wanna hit the skate park?"

"You bet." Cody said as the twins began to head out. _  
_

Zack grinned. "And maybe stop by to flirt with my Sweet Thang on the way..."

Meanwhile back in Kettlecorn, Bailey was trying to figure out why Cody's old house phone number was disconnected.

"We're sorry. But this number is not currently in service." The operator said.

"Ugh!" Bailey said as she threw the phone onto her bed. "Cody where are you?" She sighed.

Bailey took out her medallion that Cody had given her and planted a kiss on it. "I know you would never forget me. I just want you to answer my phone calls once in a while."

"Hey Bailey." Jennifer Picket said as she walked into the room.

Jennifer was Bailey's immediate younger sister who was only one year younger than her. She had an incredible bond to Bailey even though they were exact opposites. Jennifer would pull pranks on people, tease people as much as she could, and manage to keep up her good grades. Sometimes, Bailey just didn't know how she could do it.

"Hey Jen." Bailey said. "What's up."

"I found this weird stash in the kitchen cabinets." Jennifer said. "It's a bunch of envelopes."

"That's odd." Bailey said. "Lead the way little sis." Bailey said hopping off the bed.

James Kingston, the neighborhood kid who lived right down the road from the Pickett family farm was walking into the house. He wanted to see Bailey. They had been friends since they were about seven. But now that they were 15, he really wanted to be a little something more. He wanted her to be his girl. But for some reason she always told him that her heart belonged to some Cody . James had found it weird that she had such a strong bond with this person that she hadn't seen in ten years. And to be honest, it was beginning to anger him that she refused to give up her silly fantasies about Cody. James opened the front door only to be tackled to the floor as Bailey was running toward the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness James are you okay?" Bailey asked helping him up.

"I am now." James said laughing.

"How's life been?"

"Oh pretty good if you ask me." James said with a smile. "How about you, Bailey?"

"Its been better..." Bailey sighed. She had Cody on her mind almost every single day. As frustrated as she was about not being able to get in touch with Cody, she wasn't ready to give up by a long shot. After all, she had made a promise she intended to keep.

"Well, I'm just glad to see you." James said smiling.

"Likewise." Bailey said returning the smile.

"So, you finish your homework?" James asked

"Almost..."

"Oh, hello James..." George Pickett greeted them as he entered the room.

"Hello, Mr. Pickett." James said shaking his hand. "Nice to see you again."

"How many times must I tell you. Call me George." George said laughing.

"Bailey, why don't you and James go out tonight?"

"I'm not having this talk right now..." Bailey said slamming the kitchen door behind her.

"I'm sorry, sonny. I really don't know what's gotten into her." George replied.

James whispered. "Look George, I don't think pressuring her is the best way to go about this...".

"If that's what it takes for her to realize you're the right one for her, so be it. I've done my part by hiding every letter that Martin boy has sent to her. Looks like you're the one dropping the ball in getting her to forget about him..."

And with that, George made his way to the kitchen.

James sighed as he left. "That's what I've been trying to do..."

In the kitchen Bailey was sitting on the kitchen table studying for her upcoming history test. She was interrupted when she heard the door slam.

"What has gotten into you young lady?" George roared.

"What do you mean?" Bailey said not glancing up from her binder.

"You won't give the poor boy a chance!"

"Daddy, I've told you before...I only see him as a friend." Bailey said as she shut her books.

"Look, he's the perfect guy for you. Way better than that Martin kid could ever be..."

"Daddy, he's my best friend. How could you say that?" Bailey glared at her father.

"Look, that was ten years ago. Your fifteen now, Miss Pickett! You need to move  
on from that boy..."

Bailey stared at her father incredulously. "Move on? How could I possibly move on? I promised him I wouldn't!"

"Promises aren't meant to be kept. Especially this one..."

"I can't believe you! You may not keep your promises, but I certainly do!" Bailey said getting up.

Bailey spent most of the night on her bed crying. She missed Cody so much. He would know what do. He always knew what to do to make her feel better. She only stirred when she heard the door open. Jennifer walked into the room carrying a blue box.

Jennifer sat on the bed next to her sister. "Sis, this is what I was talking about."

"What is it?" Bailey asked sitting up.

"Look." Jennifer said opening the box to reveal several envelopes addressed to Bailey.

"Oh my God!" Bailey said picking up several envelopes. "These are all from Cody!"

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Bridging the Gap

_Chapter 3_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Bailey just sat on her bed staring at the pile of letters in front of her. There had to be over a hundred of them. As sad as she was to know that she had missed getting all of these letters, it did pull on her heart strings to see the evidence in front of her that Cody most definitely had not forgotten about her. Searching through them, she quickly organized them by the date of the postmark and reached for the earliest one. She was about to open it when she heard a loud voice.

"Time to brush your teeth and get ready for bed! Lights out in fifteen minutes!"

Bailey looked up at Jen and both quickly headed for the bathroom they shared. Both quickly brushed their teeth, and Jen turned to her older sister.

"What are you going to do?"

Bailey had a look of determination on her face. "I'm going to read every single one of them. I don't care if I'm up all night!"

Jen nodded. "Alright, but I would suggest using a flashlight under your covers."

Bailey nodded. "Thanks..."

"What are you going to do about Daddy?"

Bailey paused. "I don't know yet...But, I will do something..."

Both returned to the bedroom they shared and changed into their pajamas. They closed their bedroom door and turned off the lights. Bailey went over to their dresser and grabbed a flashlight. Returning to bed, she slipped into bed with the letters and waited for her parents to come in and say goodnight. Once their Dad opened the door to check on them, he closed the door again. Bailey immediately turned on the flashlight and opened the first letter.

Bailey couldn't help but smile. She immediately knew that the letter was written by a five year old Cody. Bailey almost chuckled when she realized that even at age five, Cody used proper sentence structure and syntax. She kept reading letter after letter. And as she did, she could read the worry in Cody's voice that he hadn't heard back from her. She was feeling conflicted emotions – sadness by causing Cody such grief and downright anger at her father for keeping these from her.

One letter in particular stood out to her. In it, Cody told her how he and his family were moving too, but they were moving to Boston. Bailey sighed. She knew Cody would drink up the history of the city, and she could only wish she had been there to share it with him. The next letter she noticed did in fact come from Boston, and she noticed all subsequent ones did as well. Seems he was now living in the Tipton Hotel in Boston due to a deal his mother had gotten. She kept reading as Cody went on to tell her about he and Zack were adjusting to life there. He told her of the friends they had made so far. There was Bob, Max and Tapeworm, all kids in their grade. There was Maddie, a few years older and worked the candy counter at the hotel. He even mentioned how Zack had started calling Maddie his 'Sweet Thang." Bailey almost let out a laugh at picturing Zack, who had always said girls were icky, was now hitting on an older woman. Finally, Cody told her all about London, the hotel heiress. He said she could be spacy and a little dense, but she did have a good heart underneath.

It was almost 4:00 AM when Bailey read Cody's last letter. Even after ten years, he still was begging her to contact him and let him know how she was doing. Bailey's emotions were still running high. She felt so bad that Cody was hurting because of her, but she vowed she would find a way to get in touch with him tomorrow. Looking at her rooster clock, she changed that to later that day. A plan was beginning to formulate in her mind. And as angry as she was with her father right then, she decided to hold off in confronting him for a while. In her mind, maybe she could use it to her advantage.

Bailey got less than two hours of sleep that night, but when her alarm clock went off at 6 AM, she shot up with a start. She was tired, but her determination that today was the day she got in touch with her Cody was taking over. She woke up Jen, and both quickly went downstairs to do their morning chores. Once done, she returned and showered for school. Bailey was finishing her freshman year, and Jen was finishing her eighth grade year. But with Kettlecorn so small, grades K-12 were all in the same building.

In her freshman class of eight kids, Bailey maintained her focus all day. Even James could tell that something was going on with Bailey.

"Bailey, is everything okay?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, fine..."

"Are you sure, Bails?"

Bailey just glared at him. No one was allowed to call her that but Cody. "What did you call me?"

James backed off. "Sorry...Won't happen again."

Bailey just shook her head and returned to her assignment. Soon enough, Bailey's turn on the internet was coming up. The internet was brand new to Kettlecorn that year, but everyone was only allowed ten minutes of access to it a day. Bailey had always wished she had more time to explore it, but today she only had one thing she was looking for. Sitting in front of the computer, she waited for the older machine to warm up. Once it had, Bailey pulled up a search engine she had read about before. It finally loaded and Bailey quickly typed in three words – _Boston Tipton Hotel_. The page was taking forever to load, and her time was about to run out. Finally, it opened and Bailey quickly scribbled down the phone number. She pocketed it and waited for her opportunity.

Her opportunity didn't come until several hours later. After school, she had to immediately go to her job at Buck's Bait and Beauty Barn. She worked there a few hours a day after school for spending money. Finally, her break came and she slipped outside to a pay phone. Pulling out the number she had written down, she dialed.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, Zack and Cody were returning from school and walked into the lobby of the Tipton Hotel. Zack immediately grinned as he saw Maddie working the candy counter.

"I'll be right back!"

Zack went over and propped his elbow on the counter and began trying to sweet talk Maddie. Cody couldn't help but notice Maddie rolling her eyes. But Cody had to give his brother credit, he never gave up. He was going to keep trying to win over the object of his affection. Cody could only sigh. In that regard, Zack was very lucky. Cody hadn't heard from his object of affection in ten years. Other girls had flirted with him, but when compared to Bailey, all of them had came up short. It may have been ten years, but Cody could still remember vividly the one kiss he had with her. Cody knew he would do whatever it took to experience that again.

As Cody was standing there thinking about Bailey, he was broke out of his thoughts by hearing his name.

"Cody!"

Cody snapped back to reality and turned around. Standing there staring at him was none other than London Tipton.

"What are you doing?"

Cody shrugged. "I was just thinking..."

London smirked. "About what's her name again?"

"Bailey...and yes..."

London shrugged. "Anyways, I have good news...Yay me!"

"What's your good news, London?"

"I don't ever have to go to that stupid school again!"

Cody just stared at London. "How is that possible?"

"Daddy just bought a cruise ship that has a high school on it. I get to go there!"

Cody smiled. "Congratulations, London...That actually sounds like fun."

"I know! Stopping at all those places and shopping!"

Cody sighed. Of course London wouldn't understand the wonderful educational experience that had just fallen in her lap. "I'm happy for you, London..."

"Daddy also said that all children of Tipton employees would get a discount to go there. And others could write admission essays to get scholarship thingies..."

Cody smiled again. "Really? Can you give me more information about that?"

London shrugged. "Sure. Daddy sent me an email with stuff. I'll show it to you when you come up to my penthouse for today's episode of Yay Me!"

Cody nodded. "Sounds good. Let me just take my books up to our suite, drop them off, and I'll be right up..."

London nodded and headed for the elevator. Cody looked over and Zack was still busy flirting with Maddie. Cody shrugged and turned to the elevator himself just to see it close before he could get into it. He pushed the up button again and waited for the next car to arrive. Finally, it did, and Cody made his way up to the family's suite. He walked in and saw no sign of either his Mom or Dad. He took his backpack into his bedroom and laid it on his bed. After gathering what he needed for the webisode, he began to head out of the suite when he heard the phone ringing. Cody debated whether or not to let the answering machine pick it up, but he remembered his Dad saying he was expecting an important phone call. So, Cody strolled back over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello, Martin Residence, Cody speaking..."

Cody heard silence. He was about to hang up when he heard a single word. _"Cody?"_

Cody felt his heart begin to race. It had been ten years, but he would recognize that voice anywhere. "Bailey?"

_To be Continued..._


	4. The Plans of Men

_Chapter 4_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Cody could only stand there in complete shock at hearing that voice again. He had to pinch himself several times just to make sure that he wasn't in one of his dreams again. Cody began to pace around the suite just to make sure his legs were still working.

"Bails, is that you?"

"Oh my gosh! It is you!" Bailey said as tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Tears were flowing down Cody's cheeks too. "Bailey...I thought you forgot about me..."

Bailey was crying harder now. "Cody...I could never forget about you! My dad hid all of the letters you sent me. I only discovered them last night and found out that you had moved to Boston. I'm so sorry..."

Slumping into the couch, Cody spoke again. "Bailey... I don't know what to say..."

"Cody...I have missed you soooo much."

"I miss you too, Bails...I can't even begin to tell you just how much..."

"I know how you feel...Cody, I need to see you again. Hearing your voice again...I...I..."

Cody smiled. "I know...I feel the same way, Bails..." Cody paused. "But something tells me our Dads wouldn't be too happy if we did..."

Bailey sighed. "You're right...Cody, what do we do?"

"Well..."

Cody was interrupted. "_To continued, this call, please insert another seventy-five cents..."_

Bailey quickly dug into her pockets to find more change. Fishing out three more quarters, she fed them into the slot.

"Sorry, Cody...I didn't dare call you from my home phone..."

"Its okay. I understand. We actually got lucky that you caught me when you did, I just on my way out myself...Do you have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil handy?"

Bailey dug into her purse. "Yeah..."

"Alright, I'm going to give you my cell phone number. Except when I'm in school, its always turned on. You can always reach me on it..."

Bailey sighed. "Thank you, Cody...I don't even know how many people in Kettlecorn know what a cell phone is..."

Cody smiled. "But you do. I see you are still as sharp as ever..."

Bailey smiled at his praise. "I do alright. And I could tell from your letters that you are still as brilliant as always..."

Cody blushed. "Thanks...Bails, I want to...No, I need to see you again. But it may take us some time to figure out how to pull it off..."

"If anyone can, you will, Cody. I trust you..."

"_To continued, this call, please insert another seventy-five cents..."_

Hurriedly, Cody spoke. "Bails, call me again when you get a chance and I'll see what I can come up with here..."

"Okay...Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice again..."

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea..."

But before Cody could say anything else, the line was disconnected. Cody pulled his cell phone out and made sure it was turned out in case Bailey called back. He knew she probably wouldn't, but he had hope. As he left the suite to head up to London's penthouse, a noticeable spring was now in Cody's step.

Cody proceeded to do London's webshow and was about to head back to do his homework when London handed him a copy of the email her Dad had sent her. As he rode down the elevator, he read over it and he paused. A huge grin formed on his face as he had an idea.

Returning back to his suite, Cody was in such a good mood that he almost didn't see Zack sulking on the couch.

"Hey, Zack...What's up?"

Zack sighed. "Maddie just told me to accept that there was never going to be anything between us...I guess I'm just bummed out. I mean, how do I look at her again?"

Cody paused. Another idea entered his head. While he felt kind of bad about using his brother's unhappiness to his advantage, he would make an exception this time if it meant getting to see Bailey again.

"What if I said I had an idea?"

Zack looked up at his brother. "What?"

Cody handed Zack the email London had given him. "This..."

Zack quickly scanned it. "A high school on a cruise ship?"

"Think about it, you'll have a whole new world of girls to become your new 'Sweet Thang'..."

Zack paused and considered that thought. Truth be known, it sounded pretty good to him. But, why would Cody want to do this?

"What's in it for you?"

Cody paused and stammered. "Well, it would be a great educational experience for me..."

Zack just stared at him. "What's the real reason you want to do this?"

Cody sighed and slumped down next to Zack. "If I tell you, it stays between us?"

Zack could tell Cody was serious. "Of course..."

Cody quickly filled Zack in on the phone call he had gotten from Bailey. He explained why she hadn't been in contact for so long because of what her father had done, and how Bailey didn't know they had moved to Boston. Cody then explained his idea for them to go to school together at Seven Seas High.

"So, you're doing this for her?"

Cody paused and nodded. "Yeah...I am.."

Zack shrugged. "Alright...Well, we should probably apply and get accepted before springing this on Mom and Dad..."

Cody smiled and hugged his brother. "Thanks, Zack..."

It was a few more days before Bailey called Cody back. She could only speak briefly, but she wondered if Cody had thought of anything yet. Quickly, Cody explained to Bailey about the S.S. Tipton and Seven Seas High. Immediately, Bailey thought it sounded perfect. Getting to be with her Cody and the educational experience of a lifetime? This was a no brainer. Cody gave her the website for the application, and Bailey promised to get one done as quickly as possible. After that, they only had time to say they missed each other again before time ran out again.

Bailey printed out a copy of the application the next day and was in her room filling it out before lights out. Jen came into their room and asked what she was doing. Bailey motioned her closer and explained to her about Seven Seas High and Cody's idea.

"You won't tell Mom and Dad will you?"

Jen grinned. "Not if you get me an application too..."

Bailey just hugged her sister. The next day, Jen had filled one out as well, and on her break from work, Bailey put them in the mail. Quickly, she returned to the pay phone and called Cody. In the few minutes they had, they caught each other up and explained how they had to bring their siblings into the plan too. The remaining minute they had, both couldn't really remember what they talked about as both just took in hearing the other's voice again. Once they hung up, Bailey had to return to work, but Cody had another idea. He made his way up to London's penthouse and proceeded to ask her a huge favor. London asked why, and Cody said it was for Bailey. London just shrugged and said she would make a call. She couldn't help but notice that Cody had a permanent grin on his face lately.

A couple of months passed, and Cody and Bailey spoke at least twice a week and usually more often. Both were getting close to finishing their freshman years, and both did talk to the other about school often. And both hoped they would begin their sophomore years together.

It was late April when Zack and Cody arrived home from school one day to find two envelopes from Seven Seas High waiting on them. Both looked at their respective envelopes and opened them. Zack gave a fist pump when he read that he had been accepted. Cody was a little happier when his letter read that not only had he been accepted, he had been awarded a scholarship as well. Both knew it was time to tell their parents.

"You two want to do what?"

"Dad, we've both been accepted to Seven Seas High! It will be the ultimate educational experience. And we'll have each other around to take care of each other..."

Carey sighed. "But why?"

"Well, you two wouldn't have to worry about what we are doing while you two are working. London will be there too and Mr. Moseby is becoming the ship's manager..."

Carey and Kurt just looked at each other. They both had to admit that this was a great opportunity, and with Cody's scholarship and the Tipton discount, it wouldn't cost them all that much.

Kurt sighed. "I suppose we can give this a try. But...try to behave yourselves..."

Zack and Cody immediately went and hugged their parents.

Meanwhile, in Kettlecorn, George was sifting through the day's mail. He was kind of surprised as he hadn't seen a letter come in from the Martin boy in months. Shrugging, he thought maybe he had finally given up. However, at the bottom of the pile of mail, there were two letters that stood out to him.

"What the feathers is Seven Seas High and why are they sending stuff to my daughters?"

He quickly opened the letters and read them.

"Bailey! Jen! Get in the kitchen now!"

Bailey and Jen were in their room, but they both ran into the kitchen.

George glared at them and tossed the letters at them. "You two want to explain these?"

Bailey and Jen quickly picked up their letters and read them. Both were ecstatic that they too had been accepted with full scholarships. Both turned to each other and hugged each other as they danced around the kitchen.

"Well?"

"Daddy, we've both been awarded scholarships to attend Seven Seas High, a prestigious high school that will give us the opportunity to see the world..."

George shook his head. "Absolutely not..."

Bailey finally couldn't take it any longer and glared at him. "Look, Dad...One way or another, I'm getting out of Kettlecorn. Its either this or I leave and never comeback when I'm 18..."

George just looked at his daughter. "You don't mean that!"

"I sure do!...In fact, I'm really surprised you even gave us these letters. You sure do like to hide mail that we receive..."

George looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Cut the act, Dad...I found all the letters Cody sent me that you never showed me!"

"So, this has to do with that Martin boy, huh?"

Bailey sighed. "I wish...He wants nothing to do with me now. Thanks to you, I've lost my best friend in the whole world! Just know this, I will forever hate you for that!"

George sighed and slumped into one of the kitchen chairs.

"I'm sorry, Bailey. I thought I was doing the best thing for you...He's no good for you..." He paused. "If you will try to forgive me, I...I'll let you two go..."

Jen turned to Bailey to see what she would say.

Bailey paused. "It may take a long time..."

George nodded. "I understand...We'll, you two better go give this place a call and tell them you're coming..."

Bailey and Jen squealed as they ran to their bedroom to make the phone call. As George sat at the kitchen table, he began to think. He wasn't about to let his daughters go off all by themselves. He would see what he could do to make sure James would be at that school too. Maybe some time away would be what it would take for Bailey to finally forget about Cody and begin to forgive him. He knew Bailey could be very stubborn, and knew she would follow through with her threat of leaving. His only regret though was not hiding those letters better.

The next day, Bailey took her break again and slipped off to the pay phone and dialed.

"Cody?"

"Hey, Bails!" Cody paused and chuckled. "Hay Bale...and you love on a farm..."

Bailey smiled at hearing his voice again and didn't even mind his corny joke. "Great news! Jen and I are going to Seven Seas High!"

Cody sat back and grinned. "So are Zack and I! That means will get to see other face to face in August..."

"I know...I can't wait!"

_To be Continued..._


	5. All Aboard

_Chapter 5_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

It was finally late August, and soon everyone would be boarding the S.S. Tipton to begin their school years at Seven Seas High. Neither Cody nor Zack could wait to get on board but for different reasons. Zack was ready to find a whole new world of girls to grace with his charm and presence. On the other hand, Cody only had one girl on his mind.

As Kurt and Carey dropped them off at the docks, there was an emotional goodbye. Carey was sad to have her little men leaving her, but Kurt was ready for the world to make his boys men. They all finally parted and Cody and Zack grabbed a luggage cart and loaded all of their belongings. Heading up the gang plank, both were in awe of the size of the S.S. Tipton.

"Dude...This thing is ginormous..."

Cody just stared at his brother. "I agree, but where in the world did you learn a word like that?"

Zack grinned. "Been building up my vocab to dazzle the ladies..."

Cody just rolled his eyes and kept pushing the luggage cart. Finally, they entered the lobby off the S.S. Tipton. The ships large size was only matched by the grandeur of its lobby. Both twins could only stare at the many chandeliers and works of art on the walls.

"I expect you two not to break anything..."

Both turned and found themselves face to face with a frowning Marion Moseby.

"Hey Mr. Moseby...We missed you over the summer..."

Moseby's frown faded. "Well, as much as I am going to regret saying this, I missed you both as well. Life was just too peaceful around here..."

Zack grinned. "Don't worry...I'm on it!"

"I would rather you didn't...I do have authority from your parents to use the brig on you both..."

Cody smiled nervously. "Don't worry, Mr. Moseby...That won't be necessary..."

"Anyways, you may stow your stuff in my office temporarily. From there, you need to go to the skydeck and get your welcome packet from Miss Tutweiler..."

"How will we know who that is?"

Moseby sighed. "She's the gorgeous redhead..." He paused and collected himself. "There should be a line, you can't miss it. Now, I have other things to do if you will excuse me."

Mr. Moseby walked on, and the boys dropped off their bags in the room with the sign that said ship's manager on the door. From there, they made their way up the elevator to the skydeck. And just as Mr. Moseby had said, there was a long line. Cody quickly scanned the line and skydeck for any sign of Bailey. Of course, it suddenly dawned on him that it had been ten years since he had seen her. He wondered what she looked like now. Cody shook his head. It didn't matter to him. She was Bailey and that's all that mattered.

Zack was scanning the deck as well, but his sights were on the ladies. He thought he saw one girl that was kind of cute, but a big guy with crazy hair kept getting in his way. Zack could only roll his eyes. He then grinned to himself. Soon they would be on the open water, and there would be nowhere for the girls to run and hide. Soon enough, Cody and Zack only had one person in line ahead of them. When that guy was done, they were about to walk to the table when their heard a commotion.

"Hey! Rich girl coming through! My Daddy owns this boat!"

Cody and Zack could only laugh as London barged to the front of the line.

"Moseby says I have to come here to get my room keys and stuff..."

The redhead behind the table smiled. "Young lady, there is a line of people waiting to do that..."

London looked at her like she was crazy. "So? Do any of their Daddy's own this boat?"

The redhead's eyes bulged. "You must be London Tipton..."

London smiled. "That's me! Yay me!"

"I'm Emma Tutweiler. I'm Seven Seas High principal and teacher..."

"Yeah, yeah...Can I just have my keys?"

Emma smiled tentatively. "Sure. You are in the penthouse. Here are your keys, your schedule and your orientation binder..."

London shrugged. "Whatever..." She grabbed her stuff and marched away.

Emma sighed and looked up again. She could have sworn she was seeing double.

"Ummm..."

"We're Cody and Zack Martin..."

Emma sighed in relief. "Twins...Thank God...Marion told me about you two as well. Cody, I hear you are a wonderful student. Zack...well, lets just say I've heard things about you too..."

Zack grinned. "What can I say? The legend of Zack Martin spreads fast..."

Tut rolled her eyes. "Anyways, did you two prefer to room together or be separated?"

Cody shrugged. "Might as well go with the mess you know rather than the one you don't...I have no problem with us rooming together..."

Zack shrugged too. "Why not? It'll be easier to copy his homework this way..."

Tut glared at him and gave them their keys, schedules and orientation binders. Zack and Cody turned and walked away towards their towards one set of elevators. At the exact same time, Bailey, Jen and James walked on the skydeck from the opposite direction.

Jen looked around. "This must be the line the hotel manager was talking about..."

Bailey was distracted looking around.

"Bailey?"

Bailey realized her sister was talking to her. "Huh?"

Jen just smiled and then whispered to her sister. "You'll find him soon enough. Let's get settled in first though..."

Bailey nodded and smiled at her sister. The three made their way to the line and got in the back of it. Bailey's attention was on looking around the deck trying to see if she could find Cody. Like Cody though, it dawned on Bailey that it had been ten years, and she had no idea what he looked like now. But like Cody as well, that didn't matter to her in the least. She was busy scanning the deck when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She came back to reality when she saw James waiving a hand in front of her face.

"Bailey, are you alright?"

Bailey sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little excited I guess..."

James smiled at her. "I understand. How about you and I go for a walk around the ship after we unpack to get the lay of the land?"

Inwardly, Bailey groaned. "I don't think so, James...Its going to take a while for Jen and I to get organized..." Bailey didn't like hurting his feelings, but she didn't know of any other way to give him the hint that she wasn't interested in anything more than friendship. And she felt bad lying to him. She was planning on looking around the ship, but to find Cody and not get familiarized with the ship.

James went first since he was by himself. He got his information and said he would go gather their luggage for them. Finally, it was Bailey and Jen's turn in line and they stepped up to the table that Emma was sitting behind.

"Names?"

"Bailey and Jennifer Pickett..."

Emma checked her roster. "Ahh, here you are. Both are here on scholarship. I'm Emma Tutweiler, the school principal and teacher, and I look forward to having you in my classes. We currently have you two scheduled to room together if that's okay..."

Bailey and Jen both smiled. "That's fine with us..."

Emma nodded. "Alright, here are your keys, schedules and orientation binders..."

Bailey paused and leaned in. "Can I ask you something?"

Emma smiled. "Sure..."

"Do you know if a Cody Martin has checked in yet?"

Emma paused to think. "Does he have a twin brother?"

Bailey smiled. "Yes, he does!"

"He was just here checking in not more than fifteen minutes ago..."

Bailey sighed at the thought of just missing him. "Would you be able to give me his cabin number? We're old friends and I would love to see him again..."

"Of course..." Emma checks her roster. "He and his brother are in 623..."

Bailey smiled. "Thank you so much..."

Back in cabin 623, Zack and Cody had got their room organized as well as they could agree on. Cody immediately turned for the door.

"Where are you going, Broseph?"

Cody smiled. "I'm going to find Bailey! We've left the dock, so I know she is somewhere here on the boat..."

Zack shrugged. "Good luck...I think I'm going to break in our bathroom..."

Cody winced. "Make sure you use air freshener when you're done..."

And with that, Cody was out the door. Immediately, he made his way up to the lobby and found Mr. Moseby behind his desk working on his computer.

"Hey, Mr. Moseby..."

Marion looked up. "Cody..."

"I was hoping to ask you a favor..."

Marion sighed. "What?"

"My friend, Bailey is supposed to be on board. I was hoping you would give me a cabin number..."

"Are you going to keep bugging me until I tell you?"

Cody grinned. "Pretty much..."

"Fine...What's his last name?"

"_Her_ last name is Pickett..."

Moseby just looked at Cody and grinned. "Of course..." He checks his computer. "Cabin 917"

Cody grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Moseby..." And with that, Cody was off.

Back in the twin's cabin, Zack was finishing getting ready. He had on his nicest shorts and polo shirt as well as his best flip flops. "Watch out ladies, here comes the Zack..."

Suddenly, their was a knock at his door. Zack sighed, and walked over and opened it. Before him was a beautiful girl. Zack just grinned.

"How may I help you, Sweet Thang?"

Bailey just rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you again too, Zack..."

Zack just looked at her confused. "Huh? How do you know who I am?"

Bailey laughed. "Because its me, Bailey. Is Cody here?"

"Wow...You grew up. Nice decision to lose the pig tails..." Zack laughed. "As for the Codester, he went to look for you..."

Bailey nodded. Of course he would. "Thanks, Zack."

With that, Bailey was off to look for Cody again.

Meanwhile, in Pickett girl's cabin, Jen was busy getting ready herself. She was ready to see what kind of fun she could find on this boat. She didn't think she would have trouble. The ship was at least three times bigger than Kettlecorn and who knows how many more people. As she was applying the last of the makeup she had snuck on board, she heard a knock on the door. She sighed and went over and opened it.

"Can I help you?"

"Bailey?"

"Nope, I'm her sister, Jen..."

"Jen? Last time I saw you, you were about this tall..." Cody said holding his hand up to his knee.

Jen laughed. "Well, good to see you again too, Cody...And you weren't much taller then as I recall..."

Cody laughed. "True...Is Bailey here?"

Jen shook her head. "Nope. She's out looking for you..."

Cody smiled. Of course she would. "Thanks, Jen...Good seeing you again." And with that, Cody was off to find Bailey.

Throughout the next several hours, Cody and Bailey both searched the ship over trying to find the other. Several times, they just barely missed running right into each other. Both were growing frustrated, and after ten years, they were both anxious to finally see the other.

Finally, Cody returned to the skydeck and noticed the sun was beginning to set over the ocean. He paused to take it in, but he wished Bailey was with him to witness this view. He reached into his shirt and pulled out his half of the medallion. He leaned in and kissed it.

"Come on, take me to where the other of half of you is. Bailey will be there with it, I just know it..."

At the same time, Bailey had returned to the skydeck as well. She too noticed the sunset over the ocean and sighed at its beauty. She wished Cody was with her to share it. She reached into her shirt and pulled out her half of the medallion. She leaned in and kissed it.

"Take me to Cody...I know you can find him for me..."

Bailey turned and began to walk away when she literally ran right into someone. Both were knocked to the deck, and both got up slowly. They both shook the cobwebs away and looked down at the deck in front of them. Both were looking for their half of the medallion praying they hadn't lost it. The sight before them surprised both of them. Both pieces of the medallion lay there side by side seemingly having been put back together. Immediately, both looked up at the person on the deck next to them.

"Cody?"

"Bailey?"

_To be Continued..._


	6. Closing the Gap

_Chapter 6_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Both just sat their on the deck staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Not a word was spoken as they were saying everything with their eyes. And that was a good thing because neither one of them thought they could have spoken if they had to.

Cody couldn't help but to just look at Bailey. The little girl who had been his best friend years ago was now a young woman. And in his eyes, she was the most beautiful vision he had ever seen. He couldn't help but get himself lost in her deep brown eyes. It was like they were looking right through him and into his soul. That feeling sent a shiver down his spine, but he didn't want it any other way. He wished he could turn back the clock and be with her the last ten years, but he wouldn't trade the moment he was currently having for anything in the world.

Likewise, Bailey couldn't help but to just look at Cody. The little boy who had been her best friend years ago was now a young man. She knew after seeing Zack earlier that she would have a good idea what Cody looked like now, but she was wrong. They may be twins, but she could tell a world of difference. His deep blue eyes were making her melt and her legs wobbly. Bailey knew she wouldn't mind getting lost into them for the rest of her life. She knew she was looking at the most handsome man she had ever seen. She wished she could turn back the clock and be with him the last ten years, but she wouldn't trade the moment she was currently having for anything in the world.

Finally, Cody was able to utter a single word. "Wow..."

Suddenly, Bailey was concerned. "What?"

Cody just smiled at her. "Bails, you're gorgeous..."

Bailey felt herself blushing at Cody's compliment. "You don't look so bad yourself..."

Cody's smile grew even wider. "Thanks..."

Realizing they were still sitting on the deck, Cody raised himself up to his feet and extended his hand to help Bailey up. She first grabbed the medallion and then slipped her hand into his. Immediately, both felt a jolt of electricity surge through their bodies. Knowing that was a feeling he would always seek over and over, Cody pulled Bailey to her feet. Again they just looked into each other's eyes.

Finally, Cody spoke again but it only came out in a hoarse whisper. "Come here..."

He opened his arms, and Bailey flew into them. Both just stood there with their arms wrapped tightly around the other. Even though both were spending their first day of the ship, both had the feeling of being home in the other's arms. Both felt a sense of safety and peace they hadn't felt in a long, long time. It seemed like they just stood there forever holding on to each other, neither one wanting to let go.

And they wouldn't have let go except they heard a commotion.

"What do you mean I have to pay for a smoothie? My Daddy owns this boat!"

Cody could help but chuckle, and Bailey pulled back to look at him with a confused expression.

"What's so funny?"

Cody smiled at her. "I think you should meet someone...Come with me..."

Instinctively, Cody reached down and took Bailey's hand in his. And both felt the same feeling go through them again. Slowly, Cody led Bailey over to the smoothie counter.

"London?"

London turned at hearing her name and saw Cody standing there hand in hand with a girl. "What?"

"London, I would like you to meet my oldest and best friend, Bailey Pickett...Bailey, I would like you to meet my friend and employer from the Boston Tipton, London Tipton..."

Bailey smiled and extended her hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Tipton. When I finally read Cody's letters, he had nothing but the nicest things to say about you..."

London paused and took Bailey's hand. "Nice to meet you too..." She turned to Cody. "So, this is one you kept going on and on about?"

Cody blushed at that but nodded. "Yeah, this is her..."

London sighed. "Thank God...He always talked about you. And then one day, he had the biggest smile on his face and a spring in his step. I found out it was because he had finally heard from you..."

Bailey could only smile. "I imagine I was much the same way when I finally talked to him..."

London shrugged. "Well, you two have fun...I need to go find Ivana..." And with that, London strolled off.

Cody turned to Bailey. "That's her dog...who she spoils completely rotten. London also has a webshow that she pays me to produce for her."

"She seems...nice enough."

Cody laughed. "Trust me...She grows on you. Besides, it was her who have me the idea about Seven Seas High, so I am eternally grateful to her for that..."

Bailey smiled. "I am too then..."

"Well, we are here at the smoothie bar, would you like one?"

"I've never had one before, are they any good?"

Cody nodded. "Well, I like them..."

"Then I know I will too..."

Both ordered a smoothie and Cody paid for them. Bailey tried hers, and it was delicious.

"You're right, this is great..."

"Would you like to find a table to sit at or maybe just take a walk around the ship?"

Bailey smiled at him. "A walk sounds wonderful..."

This time, Bailey grabbed Cody's hand and they just walked off beginning to talk about anything and everything.

Meanwhile, on the lido deck, there was a welcome party for all the students. Zack was making his rounds and checking out all of the lovely ladies on board. He happened to look over at the beverage table and saw one the most beautiful girls he had ever seen in his life. Nonchalantly, he strolled over to her.

"Hey, Sweet Thang..."

Jen turned, saw who it was and began to laugh. "Wow...That was pathetic..."

"Excuse me?"

"From what Cody told Bailey, he made it seem like you were some real Casanova..."

Zack looked confused. "Do I know you?"

Jen laughed. "Well, you did, but that was ten years ago...You used to call me Skinny Jenny..."

Zack's eyes almost bulged out of his head. "Jen?"

"The one and only..."

Zack was stunned. "But...but...look at you!"

Jen rolled her eyes. "Its called growing up, Zack...I thought you had too, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about that..."

"Well, excuse me! Last time I saw you, you were a little girl. Now, you're a total babe!"

Jen paused. "You really think so?"

Zack nodded. "I know so..."

Jen just shook her head. "I bet you've said that to every girl you've talked to tonight, haven't you?"

Zack paused. "Well...maybe...but this time, I actually mean it..."

Jen laughed again. "Uh huh..."

Before Zack could say anything else, James made his way over to Jen.

"Hey, Jen...Where's Bailey?"

Jen paused trying to think of something. "She's around here somewhere..."

James noticed Zack standing there. "And you are?"

Zack extended his hand. "I'm Zack Martin, my brother Cody and I used to be next door neighbors to Jen and Bailey..."

James shook his hand as Jen just looked on. "Your brother Cody, huh?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, he's around here somewhere too..."

James just nodded. "I see..." Suddenly, everything had become clear to him now. Bailey hadn't come to this school to get away from Cody. She had come here to be with Cody! James could feel his anger beginning to boil. His goal of helping her get over Cody was now shot. Bailey had played him and her father like fiddles. And to make matters worse, James had no way of letting George know about this until they docked again.

He turned back to Zack and Jen. "Excuse me, will you..." And with that, he stormed off.

Jen sighed. "Uh oh..."

Zack turned back to her. "Uh oh? What's wrong?"

"That was James. He's from Kettlecorn too. We've been friends with him for a long time, but he made it clear he wanted to be more than that with Bailey. But she never saw him as more than a friend. She never forgot about Cody for a minute. And now he knows that Bailey is probably with Cody right now..."

Zack paused and nodded. "You think he will cause any problems?"

Jen shrugged. "I have no idea..."

Zack turned to look where James had walked off to. "Well, if he's going to cause problems for my brother, he'll have to deal with me too..."

Jen smiled and slid her arm around Zack's. "I feel the same way about my sister. You know, there may be hope for you yet. But, I think we do need to go find our siblings to let them know what's going on..."

Zack nodded. "You're right. Come on, let's go..."

On another deck, Cody and Bailey are still strolling along just talking.

Cody looks up. "Hey, we must be on the school deck..."

Bailey smiled. "Come on...Let's go check out the classrooms and see what they're like!"

Cody smiled right back. "You just read my mind..."

Bailey stops them and takes both of Cody's hands in hers. "This may sound completely crazy, and I know its been ten years, but...it feels like we haven't missed a beat..."

"I know. I thought we would have to get reacquainted with each other again and get used to the people we've grown to be in the last ten years. But, you're right, it does feel the same, and I can already tell I really like the young woman you've become..."

Bailey smiled. "I feel the same way. You may be older, but you're still the same Cody I remember..."

Cody smiled back at her. "I'm going to remember that after you witness first hand some of Zack's bad habits that have rubbed off on to me..."

Bailey laughed. "I'm sure I won't mind at all..." She paused. There was something she needed to know but was afraid to find the answer to. "Did he try to get you to be a ladies man too?"

"Well, he tried, but he didn't have much success..."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

This time Cody paused. He knew he had to be honest, but he was afraid of how Bailey would take it. "Every girl he introduced me to, I would always compare them to you and they could never measure up..."

Bailey could feel her heart swell at hearing that. "Really?"

Cody nodded. "Really. What about you? I'm sure everyone from miles around tried to curry your favor..."

"Several tried, but none of them could compare with you either..."

A smile formed on Cody's face that he thought might be permanent. "Thanks..."

Bailey paused. "There is something I should tell you though..."

"What's that?"

"Jen and I didn't come on board alone. Somehow, Daddy found a way for our friend James to come on board as well..."

Cody looked confused. "And?"

Bailey sighed. "James wants to be more than friends, and I've given him every signal I can think of to tell him I'm not interested..."

Cody paused. "Want me to have a word with him?"

Bailey smiled at him. "I appreciate the offer, but its okay. Daddy really likes him...a lot. He kept encouraging me to give James a chance. Daddy just didn't understand that the only guy I wanted was you. I hope James understands..."

Cody smiled. "Really?"

Bailey didn't notice Cody's smile. "Yeah...He's not a bad guy, I just only saw him as a friend..."

Cody just shook his head. "No, I mean when you said I was the only guy you wanted..."

Bailey paused and realized what she said. "Ohhh..."

"Did you mean that?"

Bailey just looked into Cody's eyes again. "Every word..."

Cody smiled. "I guess there is only one thing left for me to do then..."

"What's that?"

"This..." Cody leaned in and kissed her again. Both just melted into each other's arms, and both were holding each other close. Their first kiss all those years ago was a precious memory to both, but this one was blowing it out of the water. The innocence of youth was gone and replaced with the passion of those meant for one another.

Unfortunately, neither one noticed James standing at the other end of the deck, watching them and fuming.

_To be Continued..._


	7. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

_Chapter 7_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Cody and Bailey continued their kiss until both had to break apart for air. However, neither made any attempt to untangle themselves from the arms of the other. Instead, both continued to just look at the other, both wearing a matching pair of dopey grins.

"I guess its my turn to say 'Wow' now..."

"You took the word right out of my mouth..."

"I guess I should be honest...Since I saw you earlier, I wanted you to do that..."

"If we're being honest, I've wanted to do that again for ten years..."

Bailey began to blush. "Really?"

Cody nodded. "Absolutely. I just hope I don't have to wait another ten years to do it again..."

Bailey grinned. "I don't think that will be necessary...I don't want to wait another ten seconds to do that again..."

Cody grinned. "Your wish is my command..."

Both lean in again, and their lips are mere millimeters from touching when they hear someone clearing their throat. Turning, Cody and Bailey see James standing there glaring at them with his arms crossed in front of chest.

Bailey sighed. "Hey...James."

"Bailey...I thought you said you and Jen would be spending the rest of the night organizing your room..."

Bailey looked at Cody before turning back to James. "We...ummm...finished early. James, this is Cody Martin. I told you all about him, remember?"

"Oh I remember all right. Kind of a coincidence he's here on board though, isn't it?"

Bailey paused not knowing how to answer, but she felt Cody holding her tighter to give her strength. "It wasn't a coincidence. Cody and I planned this so we could be together again..."

James frowned. "Yeah, I noticed. For someone you called your best friend, it sure looked like there was more to it than that...You never said he was your boyfriend..."

"Well...ummm...you see..."

Cody finished for her. "What I believe Bailey is trying to say is that's something we haven't discussed yet. We've been busy just enjoying being with each other again..." He turned to Bailey. "Right, Bails?"

James just glared at Cody for using that name.

Bailey smiled at Cody. "Absolutely..." She turned back to James. "I didn't tell you Cody was going to be here because we decided to tell as few as people as possible. The only ones who knew were Jen and Cody's brother, Zack. And no offense, we had to make sure our parents had no clue what was going on..."

James tried to hold down his anger. "So much for us being friends then, huh?"

Bailey sighed again. "James, you are my friend. And I know you want more than that, but I've been trying to tell you for a while now that that wasn't what I wanted. To be honest, I couldn't be for sure that you wouldn't tell Daddy about this..."

"Bailey, he deserves to know about this..."

"Well, then I guess you were right then...We aren't friends. Because if we were, you would be happy for me that I have my best friend and..." She looked at Cody. "...my Cody back in my life. And if you do plan on telling my father, then you are now my enemy..."

Cody nodded. "And mine as well..."

"Ours too!"

Everyone turned to see Zack and Jen walking up behind them.

Zack continued. "And I don't think you'll enjoy your time on board when everyone founds out what a butt-head you are..."

James just looks back and forth at the four. He knew enough to know Zack was right about the chilly reception he would receive from other students. And he could tell Bailey was serious too. If he wanted to have any chance of keeping her in his life, he had to pretend not to say anything. But he knew there was no way he could let this charade go on. George would be called the first chance he got.

"Fine. I won't say anything. But I have a feeling this is going to blow up in your faces..." And with that, he turned and walked away.

Cody and Bailey turned back to Zack and Jen.

"Where did you two come from?"

"We were on the lido check when that James guy came up to Jen. He asked where Bailey was and then wanted to know who I was. I explained you and I used to be their neighbors back in the day..."

Jen nodded. "That's when I knew he had figured out that you two were probably together. We came to give you guys a heads up, but it looks like we were a little late..."

Cody smiled. "Thanks guys. We appreciate it."

Bailey smiled. "We really do..."

Zack shrugged. "You're still my little brother. I may get to pick on your and give you hell, but I'm the only one who gets to..."

Cody laughed. "Fair enough..."

"I'd keep my eye on that guy though. I know he is a friend of yours, but something about him rubs me the wrong way. My gut's telling me not to trust him."

Cody nodded. "Mine's telling me the same thing..."

Bailey turned to Cody. "You really think so?"

"Lets just say I'm going to keep my guard up around him."

Bailey nodded. "That might be a good idea...He didn't seem happy at all."

Zack grinned. "And if he does cause problems, someone was telling me about a sewage flap..."

Jen just shook her head at him. "Well, I'm heading back to the lido deck. We only have another hour before curfew, and I want to have some fun..."

Zack offered his arm again. "Lets go have some then..." He turned back to Cody and Bailey. "Later..." And with that, they were off.

Cody and Bailey turned back to each other. Cody smiled. "Should we have warned Jen about Zack?"

Bailey laughed and shook her head. "Nah. She can more than take care of herself..."

Cody laughed. "Should I go warn Zack then?"

"You could...or..."

Cody smiled. "Something tells me I want what's behind door number two..."

Bailey smiled back. "That would be just little ol' me..."

Cody pulled her back into his arms again. "So, what you're telling me is that I just won the grand prize, huh?"

Bailey blushed. "You think so?"

"Uh huh..." Cody paused. "Bails, what I said before about us not having discussed it yet...well, I don't want to make you uncomfortable thinking we had to..."

"Do you not want to?"

Cody sighed. "If I'm honest, I would love to very much, but like I said, we don't have to..."

Bailey smiled. "What if I said I wanted to?"

Cody smiled back. "Yeah?"

Bailey nodded. "Cody, you've been my best friend my whole life..."

"And you've been mine..."

Bailey paused. "Would you want to be more than that...you know...like my boyfriend?"

Cody smiled again. "There is nothing I would like more..." He paused. "What about you though? Would you want to be my girlfriend?"

Bailey smiled this time. "What does this tell you?" She leaned in and kissed him again.

Once again, Cody is left with a dopey grin on his face, but he was still able to tease her. "Was that a yes?"

Bailey laughed. "That was most definitely a yes!"

Cody took both of Bailey's hands in his own. "Then you, milady, have yourself a boyfriend..."

Bailey smiled at him. "And you have yourself a girlfriend..."

Cody paused. "You'll still be my best friend too, right?"

"Always..."

Cody smiled. "So, what your saying is I have the best of both worlds, huh? My best friend in the whole world and a beautiful lady I get to kiss?"

"I guess I do too then..." Bailey leaned in and kissed him again.

Cody grinned. "I don't think I will ever get tired of that..."

Bailey grinned right back. "You better not..."

Cody was about to say something when they heard the ship blare its horn.

Bailey looked up. "What was that?"

Cody shook his head. "I don't know. Its probably in that orientation manual I haven't read yet..."

Bailey shrugged. "I'll read it later...Now, where were we?"

"Right here I think..." Cody leaned in.

"What is going on here?"

Both sigh and turn again.

"Cody?"

"Hey, Mr. Moseby...Mr. Moseby, this is Bailey I was telling you about earlier. Bails, this is Mr. Moseby, he was the manager of the Tipton before becoming this ship's manager..."

Mr. Moseby nodded. He actually wanted to congratulate Cody, but he knew he had to set an example. "That horn was the indication that its 30 minutes until curfew. I would suggest you both don't want to break curfew on your first night on board..."

Bailey nodded. "Of course...We were just about to head back to our cabins..."

Moseby nodded. "Very well..." He continued to walk away.

Cody turned to Bailey. "May I walk you back to your cabin?"

Bailey smiled again. "I would like that..."

Cody proceeded to walk Bailey back to her cabin where they both just stood outside the door looking at each other. Finally, Cody spoke.

"Thank you..."

"For what?"

Cody smiled. "For the best day of my life..."

"Thank you for mine too...If the first day was this great, I can't wait to see what comes next..."

"Me either..."

Again, they hear the ships horn blast again.

Cody sighed. "Something tells me that's my signal to head back to my cabin..."

"I guess so..."

"You want to meet for breakfast in the morning?"

"I'd love to..."

Cody nodded. "Good...Well, I guess this is goodnight then..."

"Yeah..."

"Bails...I...I..."

"What is it, Cody?"

"This..." Cody leaned in and kissed Bailey again. "I needed one more of those to make sure I had sweet dreams tonight..."

Bailey smiled at him. "Well, that will make two of us now...Goodnight, Cody."

"Goodnight, Bailey."

Bailey slipped into her room and just leaned back against the door. Jen looked up from her bed and smiled at her.

"Bailey...why is your lipstick smeared?"

Bailey just looked back at her sister. But all she can do was just smile.

Cody had slipped into his room right before curfew as well. Like Bailey, he just leaned his back against the door. Zack looked over and immediately could see lipstick smudges on Cody's lips.

Zack laughed. "That's my boy!"

_To be Continued..._


	8. Getting Into the Swing of Things

_Chapter 8_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

The rest of the opening weekend on the boat was a chance for the new students to get acclimated to their new surroundings. On Saturday, Cody and Bailey did meet up for breakfast. They didn't mind either when Zack and Jen tagged along.

Of course, afterwards, both felt it would be good to familiarize themselves with the orientation binder so they wouldn't be caught off guard like the night before. The hunkered down in Cody's cabin and sat side by side reading them, every so often bringing something to the other's attention they found interesting. After finishing it, they compared their schedules and were ecstatic to find out they had been assigned the same schedule.

Bailey smiled. "I'll actually have someone in my classes with me who I can study with!"

Cody smiled too. "It also means we get to do something we talked about doing ten years ago – doing our homework together."

"That's right!"

"Does that also mean I have a partner for any group projects?"

"Of course..."

Cody laughed. "Now, I only have to let Zack down gently..."

"Let me guess, Zack's been riding shotgun on projects with you for years letting you do all the work?"

Cody nodded. "Pretty much..."

"Well, I promise I will do my part."

"I had no doubts about that..."

"Now that we actually know about the ship, how about we try taking a walk around it again?"

"I'd like that..." Cody paused. "Bailey?"

"Yeah, Cody?"

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go see a movie tonight in the ship's theater and grab something to eat afterwards..."

Bailey smiled. "Are you asking me out on our first official date?"

"I was hoping too..." Cody chuckled. "And I was hoping the fact that you're now my girlfriend would mean it more likely you would say 'yes'..."

"I'd love too...What's playing anyways?"

Cody paused. "You know. I'm not sure. Maybe we can swing by it and find out?"

"Let's go then..."

The two headed off hand in hand to get a better idea of the layout of the ship. They brought their schedules with them so they knew which classrooms to be in on Monday. Once that was accomplished, they stopped by the theater and noticed the movie playing was called _Flowers and Chocolate_.

Bailey smiled. "Sounds good to me."

After that, they continued their exploring of the ship. At one point, they finally found their way to the lido deck. They walked around it and saw several fun things like the rock climbing wall, the wave pool and the water slide.

"This looks like a lot of fun. Kettlecorn didn't have anything like this. At most we had the old swimming hole..."

Cody smiled. "Well, did you bring a bathing suit with you?"

Bailey sighed. "Yeah, but the swimsuit Daddy made us wear would make me stick out like a sore thumb around here..."

"Well, we have some time before the movie, how about we go shop for a new one for you..."

"I would love to, but I should probably save the money I do have for more important things..."

Cody smiled again. "Then let it be my gift to you..."

Bailey smiled. "I appreciate the thought, Cody, but I couldn't ask you do to that..."

"Bails, you're my girlfriend now...Its my job...no, my duty as your boyfriend to spoil you with gifts..."

"You spoiling me gifts isn't why I'm your girlfriend..."

Cody grinned. "I know...but I want to do this. Plus, I know you'll look amazing..."

Bailey teased him. "So, this is just about seeing me in a bathing suit, huh?"

"No...but call it a fringe benefit..."

Bailey laughed. "Alright, but I get to pick the one I want..."

"Absolutely."

So, they headed off to one of the ships many shops. Bailey browsed many racks and examined many suits. Cody kept his word and didn't say a word. Of course, every suit Bailey picked up, Cody pictured her in it in his mind. He couldn't help it. In his mind, she was just that gorgeous. Finally, Bailey went into the dressing room with several she liked so she could try them on. Like a dutiful boyfriend, Cody sat in the chair outside the dressing room and waited.

Finally, she came out and walked to the counter. Cody followed her, and by the time he got to the counter, the suit she had chosen was already bagged. He handed his credit card to the salesperson and turned to Bailey.

"So, which one did you choose?"

Bailey smiled. "You'll just have to wait until tomorrow when we go back to the lido deck."

Cody laughed again. "That works for me..."

"Come on, let's go drop this off in my room and we'll head to movie..."

Sitting in the theater later that night, both sat there and held hands. At particularly emotional scenes, Cody wrapped his arm around Bailey and she would lie her head on his shoulder. If anyone had actually observed them, they would have thought they were looking at a couple who had been together for a long time. In some ways, that would have been correct. But, it was two people not only on their first date together, but on their first dates period. The only person who didn't smile when looking at the couple was James who spent the entire movie in the back row glaring at them.

Back on the skydeck, Zack was sitting on at the smoothie counter drinking a smoothie. He put on the air that he was scoping out the babes. But if he was honest with himself, there was really only one girl he was looking for. And so far, he hadn't seen her. It was becoming a little disconcerting to him though. As much as Jen now intrigued him, he didn't want to follow down the same road that he had with Maddie. He had no desire to be burnt like that again. Zack was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice someone had sit down next to him.

"Hey...Earth to Zack!"

Zack snapped out his thoughts and saw Jen sitting next to him. "Oh...Hey..."

Jen laughed. "You were a million miles away..."

"I was...uhhh...I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"Nothing important..."

Jen just looked at him. "Yeah, right...I recognize that far away look. I saw it on my sister's face often enough when she was thinking about your brother..."

Zack tried to change the subject. "Speaking of which, did you know that my brother came back to the cabin last night with lipstick smudges all over him?"

Jen laughed. "I can believe that. Bailey's lipstick was severely smudged as well..."

Zack nodded. "Good for them..."

"I agree...Now, back to what we were talking about earlier. What girl had you in your far away place?"

Zack sighed. Maybe it would be good to get this off his chest. "Her name was Maddie..."

Jen just sat there. For some reason, she felt a pang of jealousy hearing that, and she had no idea why. "So, what happened?"

Zack shrugged. "Nothing. I tried my best to get her attention, but it didn't work. I even began flirting with a lot of other girls hoping it would make her jealous..." He let out a small laugh. "Stupid, huh?"

"Not at all. But I'm taking it didn't work..."

"Nope. She finally told me to accept that there would never be an us. That's when Cody sold me on the idea of coming here. I figured it would give me a chance to move on..."

"Zack, I'm sorry..."

Zack shrugged again. "Its okay..."

Jen paused. "So, is that why you flirt with every girl you see now?"

"I do not!"

Jen laughed again. "Oh please, when you saw me yesterday, it was like a hungry wolf looking at a sheep..."

"Sorry about that...I guess I just don't want to put myself in the position to be burned again."

"Its okay...It was actually rather flattering. I had never been called a babe before..."

Zack turned to her. "Please tell me you're kidding..."

Jen shook her head. "Nope..."

"Well, the boys in Kettlecorn must either be stupid or blind or both..."

Jen smiled at him. "Thanks..."

"So, what are your big plans for your first Saturday night on board?"

"I don't know...I was thinking about heading down to the game room and checking it out..."

Zack smiled. "Want some company?"

"Sure..." Jen grinned. "Just make sure you behave...Don't forget we're just friends..."

"Of course..."

The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch. Cody and Bailey's date went great, and Zack and Jen actually had fun hanging out together. Sunday was a chance to enjoy the ship's luxuries before they started classes the next day. Bailey even unveiled her new swimsuit to Cody. She had gone with a bikini after all albeit a conservative one. But that didn't matter to Cody in the least. To him, he had been right...she looked amazing. Cody felt extremely lucky. Not only was his girlfriend smart, sweet, and kind, but she was beautiful.

Monday brought with it the first day of classes. Jen was by herself taking the freshman classes while Zack, Cody and Bailey were in the sophomore curriculum. Zack found himself bored with the classes and spent most of his time staring out into space or trying to sleep behind one of his books. On the other hand, Cody and Bailey were in their element. Every time a teacher asked a question, both of their hands immediately shot up. And to their surprise, London was in all of their classes too. Cody and Zack thought that was a little odd considering she was older than they were, but in the end, they really weren't all that surprised.

Of course, there was someone else in all of their classes who mainly spent the whole day staring at them. James. At the end of the day, Cody and Bailey walked out past him and he couldn't help but overhear them talking about their birthdays the next month and how excited they were to be turning 16. Suddenly, James had an idea...

_To be Continued..._


	9. Late Nights

_Chapter 9_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

The first month at sea seemed to fly by. During the week, there were classes to attend and homework to do. And Cody and Bailey always did theirs together. Emma Tutweiler soon figured out that those two were the top students in her classes. And despite her initial misgivings, Emma found Zack's homework to be well done as well.

Of course, there was a reason for that. Zack had severely cut back on his girl watching, and instead found he preferred to hang out with Jen. And if that meant doing homework along side of her, then so be it. Living with Cody did have its benefits though. If there was something he didn't understand or just didn't feel like doing, he could always look at Cody's homework while he was in the shower or out with Bailey.

And Zack did notice how much Cody and Bailey were together. And he always noticed the goofy grin on Cody's face every night when he came back to their cabin. One night, it was so bad that Cody just laid back on his bed and stared off into space with his arms behind his head. Zack just shook his head.

"Dude...You've got it bad..."

Cody snapped out of his daydream and turned to his brother. "Got what bad?"

"Oh please. Its obvious to everyone on this ship except you..."

Cody was confused. "What's obvious?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "That you're in love..."

Cody paused. "Oh..."

Zack smirked. "Don't deny it..."

"I can't deny it...or confirm it either. Zack, I've never been in love before, so I don't know what that feels like..."

Zack paused. "Then what are you feeling?"

Cody smiled. "Now, that's an easy one. I feel alive whenever I'm with Bailey. I can't wait to see her first thing in the morning, and I hate saying goodbye every night. When I'm with her, time goes by way too fast, and when I'm not, it drags by. I feel like I can do anything when I'm with her..."

"I don't know, Bro...Sounds like love to me..."

Cody paused again. "Maybe it is. Even if it is though, I'll keep it to myself. I don't want to scare her or make her feel uncomfortable..."

"Why would it scare her off?"

Cody just shook his head. "Zack, I waited ten years to get her back in my life and its better than I ever could have dreamed of. I wouldn't do anything in the world to screw this up..."

"What if she feels the same way?"

Cody smiled at that thought. "I only hope she does..."

Zack sighed. "Are you that dumb? As obvious as it is that you are in love with her, its equally obvious she's in love with you..."

"You really think so?"

"Yes!"

Cody got up and set next to Zack. "Tell me why you think so..."

Zack groaned. "This is going to be a long night..."

Meanwhile, in Bailey and Jen's cabin, Bailey is lying back on her bed looking at a picture of her and Cody that was taken of them the night of their first date. Jen came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth and just rolled her eyes at her sister.

"You just saw him ten minutes ago. Surely you haven't forgot what he looks like already..."

Bailey turned and looked at her sister. "Of course not. I just miss him. That's all..."

"In a few minutes, you'll be asleep. When you wake up, you're only a shower away from seeing him again. I think you'll be alright..."

Bailey sighed. "I know. I just like it better when he's here with me..."

Jen shook her head. "If I'm ever that bad when I fall in love, I hope someone smacks me..."

Bailey was surprised. "What did you just say?"

"I was just kidding. Really, I'm happy for you that you're in love..."

"What makes you say that?"

Jen stared at her sister. "Oh please...You're head over heels for Cody. I see the way you look at him. You spend every waking minute you can with him..."

Bailey looked away. "We have ten years to make up for..."

Jen smirked. "Does that explain why you come home every night with your lipstick smeared?"

"Well..."

"Face it, Bailey...you're in love..."

Bailey sighed. "I don't know. I might be. I've never been in love before."

"How do you feel then?"

"Whenever I'm with Cody, I feel like I can be myself. And its not like he just accepts it, he embraces it. He makes me feel so good about myself. And when he looks at me, I feel like I'm the only person he sees. I always feel happy when I'm with him. I feel like that as long as he is there with me, everything will be alright in the world..."

Jen paused. "Let's try something. I'm going to ask you something and you immediately say the first word that comes to your mind..."

"Alright..."

"Favorite color..."

"Blue..."

"Favorite food..."

"Chicken pot pie..."

"Favorite subject..."

"Math..."

"Man you are going to marry..."

"Cody..." Bailey paused. "Wow..."

Jen smiled. "Face it, Sis...You're in love."

Bailey nodded. "Maybe so..."

"So, are you going to tell him tomorrow?"

Bailey shook her head. "I can't. Things are going so well with Cody, I don't want to freak him out..."

Jen groaned. "I seriously doubt that will happen..."

"Jen, I lost him for ten years. I'm not going to risk losing him again..."

"Bailey, you won't. In case you can't tell, he's just as in love with you..."

"You really think so?"

Jen sighed. "He waited ten years for you and came up with this plan for you two to be together. And now you are, he hardly ever leaves your side. I'm pretty sure..."

Bailey smiled. "That would be wonderful..." She paused. "What else makes you think so?"

Jen fell back on her bed. "This is going to be a long night..."

Meanwhile, in another cabin on the boy's floor.

"You going to be up late?"

James turned around in his desk chair and looked at his roommate. "Not long, Woody. I just have to finish something before I go to bed..."

Woody nodded and turned out the lamp next to his bed. James turned back to his laptop. Beside him, he had a copy of the Seven Seas High Newsletter that went out each month to the student's parents. One small change should do the trick he thought. James retyped the whole newsletter word for word. Then, he glanced at the addition he had typed up to add on at the end.

_Seven Seas High would also like to wish a Happy Birthday to the following students with birthdays in October:_

_October 2: Kyle Anderson_

_October 4: Sarah Johnson_

_October 8: Mary Jordan_

_October 9: Derek Miller_

_October 14: Bailey Pickett, Cody Martin, Zack Martin_

_October 17: Darren Allen_

_October 19: Jillian Davis_

_October 24: Jason Williams_

_October 29: Sally McKenzie _

James looked at his handy work and smiled. Once both the Picketts and Martins both saw this list, the charade Cody and Bailey were leading would be over. And the best part of it was that there was no way that it could be traced back to him. James smiled at that. When Cody and Bailey were ripped apart again, he would be there as the friend she needed. Bailey would see that he was the one who really loved her, of that James was sure. All he needed to do was 'borrow' two pieces of Seven Seas High Stationary and two Seven Seas High envelopes. After that, all he needed to do was wait. With victory a sure thing in his mind, Josh stretched and headed over to his own bed for a well deserved rest.

In the middle of the night, Woody got up to use the bathroom and stumbled back into the main part of the cabin when he was done. He noticed light coming from James's laptop.

"I better close that or it will drain power...and keep me up..."

Woody walked over and begin to close the lid when the screensaver disappeared and James's work appeared. In his sleepy daze, Woody looked down at the list.

"Hey! My birthday is October 6th...Dang it! They forgot my birthday!"

The next morning, Cody and Bailey again met for breakfast with Zack and Jen straggling in later. Cody and Bailey finished their meals early and headed off to the class room for their first class.

Jen looked at Zack. "You look tired..."

Zack blinked his eyes. "Yeah, I was kept up kind of late last night..."

Jen nodded. "Same here..."

"You realize that as smart as my brother is, he's still an idiot..."

Jen laughed. "What makes you say that?"

Zack sighs and his lack of sleep causes him to let something slip. "He's afraid to tell your sister that he loves her..."

Jen's eyes opened wide. "Cody loves her?"

Zack realized what he said. "I...ummm...forget I said that!"

"Not a chance. Bailey's afraid to tell Cody that she loves him too..." Jen laughed again. "I guess they are both idiots..."

Zack yawned. "Looks that way...Oh well, what can we do about it..."

Jen paused. "If we want a good night's sleep tonight, we figure something out..."

Zack grinned. "Are you thinking of doing something sneaky and manipulative?"

Jen grinned back. "I am now..."

"Consider me in!"

_To be Continued..._


	10. Those Three Little Words

_Chapter 9_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

Zack just stared at Jen. "Wow...That's almost evil.." He paused and grinned. "I love it..."

Jen grinned. "Not too bad if I say so myself..."

Zack nodded. "Cody better appreciate this. The flowers we are going to send Bailey won't be cheap..."

"Neither will the cologne we are going to send Cody..."

"Well, at least I've learned how to forge Cody's signature..."

Jen laughed. "And I can wing Bailey's..."

"This better work or my lack of beauty sleep will be the least of our worries..."

Jen smiled. "Have a little faith. It will..."

The next day, Cody was in his room, packing up his backpack, on his way to go meet Bailey to do their homework. As he was grabbing the last textbook he would need, there was a knock at the cabin door. He went over and answered it. Standing before him was someone in a delivery outfit.

"Cody Martin?"

"Yeah, that's me..."

The man hands Cody a package. "This is for you..."

"Thank you..." Cody fished a dollar out of his pocket and tipped the guy.

Closing the door, Cody unwrapped the package and found a bottle of cologne. He sprayed it on his wrist and decided it was pretty nice. Looking back at the package, he found there was a note attached. He opened the envelope and began to read the note.

_My Dearest Cody,_

_I caught this scent and immediately thought of you. I hope you like it._

_I love you,_

_Bailey_

Cody smiled. If this was from Bailey, he would definitely wear it when he went to meet her. He sprayed some more on his wrists and rubbed them together. Then he took some and dabbed some on both sides of his neck. He grabbed his backpack and began to head out the door when he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned back around and grabbed the note again. He read it again and again. _I love you_. Cody felt his heart beating faster and faster. Had his Bailey just said to him the three most magical words in the world? Cody smiled. If she was brave enough to tell him, he knew that he owed it to her to tell her how he felt – that he loved her too.

In Bailey's cabin, she was straightening the room up in preparation of Cody coming over to do their homework. She scooted Jen's desk chair next to hers. Looking at it again, she scooted the two chairs closer together. Looking again, she smiled. She then organized her textbooks so they would be ready to begin once Cody arrived. As she was doing that, she heard a knock at her door. She walked over and opened it and found a delivery guy holding a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers.

"Bailey Picket?"

"Yeah, that's me..."

The delivery guy handed the bouquet to Bailey. "These are for you..."

Bailey tipped the guy and closed the door. She leaned down to smell them, and they had the most pleasant scent. She also noticed that there was a card attached to the flowers. First, she filled a vase with water to put the flowers in. Then, she opened the envelope and read it.

_My Dearest Bailey,_

_I saw these and thought their beauty was only surpassed by yours._

_I love you,_

_Cody_

Bailey smiled and leaned in and smelled them again. She couldn't help but think how thoughtful Cody was for sending them to her. She decided she wanted to put them on a prominent display to show Cody how much she appreciated them. She carried them over and placed them on her bedside table. She was admiring how they looked when she stopped dead in her tracks. She turned back around and immediately went to grab the envelope again. She read it again and again. _I love you_. Had her Cody just said the three words she had longed to hear? Bailey smiled. If Cody had the courage to tell her how he felt, she knew she must tell him how she felt – that she loved him too.

Bailey was broken out of her thoughts by another knock at her door. She answered it and found Cody standing there smiling at her. Bailey couldn't help but to smile back.

"Please, come on in..."

Cody nodded, walked in and dropped his backpack on her desk. He turned back around and faced Bailey.

"Bails, there's something I need to tell you before we get started..."

"Cody, there's something I need to tell you too..."

Cody smiled. "Ladies first..."

"I wanted to thank you for the beautiful flowers. I love them and I..."

Cody was confused and interrupted her. "What flowers?"

Bailey just looked at him funny. She walked over to her nightstand and gestured to the flowers there. "These flowers. The ones you had sent to me just a while ago..."

"Bails, I didn't send you any flowers...well, I would, but I didn't send any to you today. But I do want to thank you for the cologne you sent me..."

Now Bailey was confused. "What cologne? I didn't send you any cologne...I mean I would do something like that, I just didn't today..."

Cody looked at her funny. "But I have the note you attached to it..."

"And I have the note you attached to my flowers..."

Cody and Bailey compare their notes side by side. Realization finally dawns on them.

"Zack..."

"Jen..."

"Look, Bails. I'm sorry. I don't know why Zack did this, but I will find out..."

Bailey sighed. "Its okay...I was just so excited when I saw..." She paused. "Nevermind..."

"No, what were you going to say? You can tell me anything, Bails..."

"I just got really excited when I thought you had wrote _I love you_...I know, its silly, but..."

Cody took her hand. "Its not silly at all. You really got excited when you saw that?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, I did..."

Cody smiled. "I was afraid I would freak you out when I said it..."

"Of course not. Why would that..." Bailey paused. "Does that mean you were thinking about saying it?"

"Yeah, I was. Because its true. I love you, Bailey...That's why I was excited when I thought you had wrote it too..."

Bailey smiled. "That's why I was excited...Because I love you too, Cody..."

"So, did we just say we both loved the other?"

Bailey grinned. "I do believe we just did..."

Cody grinned. "You know what we have to do now, right?"

"I sure hope so..."

Cody and Bailey both leaned in and sealed it with a kiss. Both pulled back finally and smiled at each other.

"I'll let Zack off the hook this time..."

"I know what you mean..."

Meanwhile, on the skydeck, Zack and Jen are sitting at the smoothie bar. Both keep looking around, hoping not to see their siblings coming at them angry.

Zack sighed. "I sure hope this worked..."

Jen nodded. "Me too..."

"Hey, Zack!"

Zack jumped in surprise. He turned and saw Woody Fink coming up to him.

"Hey Woodchuck. What's up?"

"You up for another game today?"

Zack shrugged. "Why not?" He turned to Jen. "You up for some basketball?"

Jen nodded. "Sure."

"Woody, this is Jen Pickett. Her sister, Bailey, is the girl dating my brother. Jen, this is Woody Fink, but I call him a lot of things..."

Both Jen and Woody nod at each other.

Before they walk off, Woody pauses. "Hey Zack. Did you have to do something special to get your birthday in the Seven Seas High newsletter?"

Zack just looked at Woody. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, the newsletter that's sent home to all of our parents. I saw my roommate had a copy of it on his computer. On the birthdays, it had yours, Cody's and Bailey's listed, but they forgot mine..."

Jen's mind began to race. "Uh oh...Woody, who is your roommate?"

"James..."

Zack and Jen turn to look at each other. Both knew this wasn't good.

To be Continued...


	11. The Secret is Out

_Chapter 11_

_We don't any of these characters except ones we create._

The same thought went through Zack's and Jen's minds. James. They knew they had to act fast if there was any chance of stopping the newsletters from going out. First, they turned back to Woody.

"Woodchuck...Repeat what you just said again..."

Woody shrugged. "I just wanted to know how you guys got your birthdays on the newsletter. Did you guys have to ask someone?"

Zack shook his head. "No, we didn't. You said you saw it on James' computer?"

Woody nodded. "Yeah..."

Zack sighed. "I'm going to have to do something I swore never to do. Go talk to Miss Tutweiler outside of class..."

And with that, Zack and Jen were off. Woody stood there staring at them leave before he decided to follow them. After all, he was supposed to play basketball with them. Zack and Jen were almost in a full sprint towards the school deck. Once they got there, they noticed Miss Tutweiler was sitting at a desk working on something. Zack and Jen stormed into the classroom out of breath.

"Miss Tutweiler!"

She looked up and saw Zack and Jen panting for breath.

"Is everything alright?"

"The newsletters...We need you to take our birthdays off of it!"

Miss Tutweiler just looked at them like they were crazy. "What are you two talking about?"

Jen spoke up. "Trust us...You need to take Zack, Cody and Bailey's birthdays off the newsletter. If you don't, bad things will happen..."

"I h ave no idea what you two are talking about, but we don't put student's birthdays on our newsletters...That would cost more money, and Mr. Moseby is tight enough as it is with allocating funds..."

Now Zack and Jen were confused. "But...but Woody said..." Both turned around to find Woody and found him crawling into the class room dripping sweat. "Woody! Get over here..."

Woody pulled himself up slowly and stood there breathing heavily.

"Tell Miss Tutweiler about what you saw."

Woody was still trying to catch his breath. "James...computer...newsletter...birthdays..."

Miss Tutweiler just shook her head. "Woody, catch your breath and then speak."

Woody spent the next five minutes catching his breath. "Alright...My roommate, James, had a copy of the newsletter on his computer and it had Zack, Cody and Bailey's birthday on it. My birthday is October 6th, I want to make sure my birthday is included..."

"I'm sorry guys, the newsletters were mailed out several days ago. You're too late..."

Woody sighed. "Dang it!"

"But like I told Zack and Jen, we don't add birthdays to them. So, I have no idea what James had on his computer..."

Zack and Jen just looked at each other again and nodded. "We need to get in James' room. Woody, come up with us..."

Both of them dragged Woody out of the classroom and towards his cabin.

Meanwhile, in Bailey's cabin, she and Cody were sharing another kiss together.

"You know, at some point, we do need to do our homework..."

Cody grinned. "We're already two weeks ahead..."

Bailey giggled. "Are you saying you want to do this for the next two weeks?"

"Well, I may need to get some Carmex, but I'm willing to give it the old college try..."

Bailey just shook her head at him. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Anything you want as long as you love me..."

Bailey smiled. "That I will never stop doing..."

Cody smiled right back. "Me either..."

"Cody, us being back together like this has been more wonderful that I ever could have imagined..."

"I know what you mean. And to think, we have three more years of this and then off to college..."

"And once we're 18, who cares what our parents think..."

Zack, Jen and Woody were in Woody and James' cabin.

"Which laptop is his?"

Woody pointed to the one of the desk closest to the wall.

"Woody, keep an eye out for James." Zack sat down in front of the laptop and opened it up. However, when the screen came up, there was a prompt for a password. Zack sighed. "Oh well, there goes that..."

Jen rolled her eyes. "Step aside..."

Zack got up, and Jen took his place. She began typing and immediately she was let into to James' desktop.

Zack was impressed. "How did you do that?"

Jen grinned. "Easy. He's obsessed with my sister so I tried her name..."

Zack paused to think. "Huh...Wonder if Cody's password is the same thing..." He shook his head. "Oh well, see if you can find the newletter..."

Jen began looking for it, but was having no luck. On a hunch, she opened up the recycling bin and checked for recently deleted files. Low and behold, there was a document there titled 'ssnwlttr'. She opened up the file and there it was.

Jen sighed. "Well, there it is..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her flash drive and saved it to it. After that, she hooked the laptop up to the printer and printed out a hard copy.

She turned and faced Zack. "Yeah, it was James who did this. And I bet the fake ones have already been mailed..."

Zack sighed. "We need to go tell Cody and Bailey then. Odds are they will be hearing from our parents soon..."

"I know. This sucks. They were ripped apart for ten years, and I'm pretty sure our parents will do it again..."

"What can we do about it?"

"I don't know...But I do know Cody and Bailey are up in our cabin, we need to tell them ASAP..."

"Right. Let's go."

Meanwhile, back in Boston and Kettlecorn respectively, Kurt Martin and George Martin were walking into their kitchens looking through their day's mail. Both finally get to a letter from Seven Seas High. Both open them and notice its a newsletter. Both sit down at their kitchen tables to see what is going on with the school their children were attending. As both skimmed the newsletter, they came upon the section with Student's birthdays. And both knowing their children had birthday's coming up, both immediately looked for October 14. At the same time, both read the entry under that date.

George Pickett was seeing red. "What the...the Martin twins?"

Kurt had to re-read it a few times. "Bailey Pickett? But that's..."

At the exact same time, they both realized their children had played them.

"Over Cody Martin my rear end! Bailey set this up to be with that no good Martin kid! How dare she betray me and her family like this!"

"Ultimate education experience! I would expect something like this from Zack, but Cody? To knowingly go behind my back so he could be with that Pickett girl? How could he betray me like this?"

_To be Continued..._


	12. Confrontations

_Chapter 12_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

Later that night in Boston, Kurt Martin just sat at the kitchen table, a drink in his hand. Carey Martin sat across from him.

"Kurt, settle down..."

Kurt just shook his head. "I have nothing to settle down from! Our son deliberately lied to us so he could be with that Pickett girl!"

Carey sighed. "Her name was Bailey, and in case you've forgotten, she and Cody were inseparable until you and George Pickett pulled them apart..."

Kurt got up to pour himself another drink. "Those Picketts are no good, low down, whining, pieces of..."

"Careful of what you say...And haven't you had enough to drink tonight?"

Kurt glared at Carey. "Our son betrayed us! Why isn't this a big deal to you? And as for another drink, I think I've earned another!"

"That's all you do nowadays is drink too much..."

Kurt smirked. "Well, I'm sorry...My job is rather stressful. The booze helps ease the strain after a long day..."

Carey just shook her head. "No wonder Zack and Cody wanted to get away..."

"What does that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, have you considered why Cody did this? Or have you just thought about how it affects you?"

"It shouldn't matter why he did it! The fact is the Martin family hates the Pickett family. Cody betrayed us by going off to be with that girl!"

Carey was about to say something when they were interrupted by the phone.

Back in Kettlecorn, George Pickett was pacing the kitchen floor in anger. Sally Pickett was trying to soothe her husband.

"Settle down. This isn't that big of a deal..."

George turned and glared at her. "Not that big of a deal? Bailey has betrayed this family. Hanging out with that Martin boy can only lead to trouble. Those Martins are no good, low down, back stabbing, pieces of..."

"Careful. Obviously our daughter doesn't agree with your opinion..."

"Sally! She flat out lied to us!"

Sally smirked. "Didn't you lie to her by keeping all of Cody's letters from her?"

George paused. "I was doing what I thought was best..."

"You remember how mad she was about that. What do you think will happen if you pull her away from that ship and Cody now? I don't know about you, but I'd like to keep our daughter in our lives..."

"I'm her father. Its my job to protect her and keep her away from undesirables!"

"Undesirable to you or to her? Cause you kept trying to force that James boy on her, and she was clear she wasn't interested..."

George sighed. "Fine! I'll let her stay on the boat, but I'm going to make sure she stays away from that Martin boy!"

George picked up the phone. "Get me a Kurt Martin in Boston, Massachusetts."

"What are you doing?"

"Putting a stop to this once and for all!"

Meanwhile back on the S.S. Tipton, Zack and Jen have ran all the way back up to Bailey and Jen's cabin. As they bust in, Cody and Bailey immediately pull away from another kiss they were sharing.

Bailey sighed. "Couldn't you have knocked first?"

Jen shook her head. "One, its my cabin too. Two, there was no time!"

"What do you mean no time?"

Jen shoved a piece of paper in front of Cody and Bailey. "Look at this..."

Bailey frowned. "Its the Seven Seas Newsletter..."

Cody paused. "Uh oh..."

"What?"

Cody pointed to the section on birthdays. "That..."

Bailey sighed. "Oh no..." She paused. "Is there anyway to stop this from going out?"

Zack shook his head. "No. We already tried. But Tut said the real ones don't have the birthdays listed on them..."

Cody was confused then. "What is this then?"

"This is a copy of a fake one James made and sent to our parents. We printed this off of his computer five minutes ago..."

"James..."

Bailey shook her head. "But...I thought he was my friend. He said he wouldn't say anything..."

Cody shook his head and his anger was building. "I knew I should have kept an eye on him..."

Bailey's anger was rising too. "Where is he? I'll kill him! He knows I can neuter a bull with my bare hands!"

Zack grimaced at that. "Okay, note to self. Don't tick off Bailey..."

Bailey grabbed Cody's hand. "Come on, we need to go find that snake in the grass!" And with that, Bailey dragged Cody out of the cabin. Zack and Jen looked at each other, shrugged and followed them.

Back in Boston, Kurt picked up the phone.

"Yeah?"

"_Well, well...If it ain't that no good, back stabbing Kurt Martin..."_

Kurt growled. "George Pickett...What the hell do you want?"

"_I want to know why you let that chip off the old block son of yours brainwash my daughter!"_

"My son did no such thing. I bet this was all your little hayseeds doing. My Cody is a good boy. I know he would never do anything like this without your daughter encouraging him!"

"Well, my Bailey would never do anything like this, so your boy has to be the one at fault!"

"Well, don't you worry about that anymore. The ship is going to be docking in Hong Kong next week. I'll be there to pull my sons off that ship so fast it'll make your daughter's head spin!"

"No you won't because I'll be there before you to drag my daughters off that ship and take them somewhere that delinquent son of yours never finds my Bailey ever again!"

And with that, both fathers slammed their phones down. And both mothers just stared at the fathers knowing that there would likely never be peace in the families ever again.

Back on the ship, Bailey and Cody storm onto the skydeck and see James sitting at the smoothie bar. They march over, and Bailey spins James around and slaps him as hard as she can.

"I can't believe you!"

James was rubbing his cheek. "What did I do?"

Bailey takes the piece of paper Jen printed out and shoves it in his face. "And I thought you were my friend!"

James looks at the piece of paper. "Its the Seven Seas High Newsletter...So what?"

By then, Jen and Zack had arrived behind Cody and Bailey.

Jen smirked. "Yeah, the one we printed off of your laptop. Miss Tutweiler told us the real ones didn't include birthdays on them.

James stands there seeing four angry faces starting back at him. Realizing he was caught red handed, he decided to come clean.

"Alright. So I did it. I was doing what your father asked me to do. I was trying to keep you safe..."

Bailey was incredulous. "Who was I in danger from? Cody? Hardly! Cody loves me and I love him. I've never felt more safe in my life than when I with him. And thanks to you, our parents are probably going to try to pull us apart again..."

"But..."

"But nothing! I hate you. I hate you with every fiber of my being!"

Cody finally spoke. "I'm with Bailey. I will find Bailey again, and then we will make sure your life is a living hell!"

Zack nodded. "And we'll help!"

Bailey glared at James once again. "I made the mistake of thinking you were my friend. Never again! I wouldn't throw water on you if you were on fire. I hope everyone knows soon just what kind of a scumbag you really are. I...I..." Bailey's anger was rising so much, she wanted to physically hurt James.

But before she could, Cody held her back. "Bails, he deserves to be punished, and if there is a God, he will be. But right now, we have other things to worry about right now..."

James took the opportunity to run away like the coward he was.

Bailey turned and looked into Cody's eyes. Immediately, she began to calm down. "You're right. Cody, what are we going to do?"

Cody paused. "Maybe you can call one of your other sisters and get them to get to the mail first. Maybe I can call Esteban or Maddie and get them to get to our mail first..."

Bailey nodded. "That might work..."

Cody smiled at her. "It has to. We've come too far to be separated again. Bailey, I refuse to go anywhere without you."

Bailey smiled back at him. "I feel the same way, Cody. I love you."

"I love you too..." Cody was about to lean in and kiss her again when his cell phone rang. He sighed and looked at the display and looked up with a look of horror on his face.

"Cody, who is it?"

"Its our home number in Boston..."

_To be Continued..._


	13. The Reaction

_Chapter 13_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

Sally Pickett found herself sitting on Bailey's old bed. George had gotten very angry after the phone call with Kurt and had stormed out of the house. Sally just sighed. She loved her husband, but she knew his anger was blinding him from seeing what he was going to do to the family. Sally knew if George drug Bailey off of that ship, they would never see her again once she turned 18. She certainly didn't want that but had no idea what to do to stop it.

Sally stood up and began to straighten things up in the room. She just wanted to do something to keep her mind on the family situation. As she picked up a book on Bailey's bedside table, a slip of paper fell out. Sally picked it up and looked at it.

_Cody's cell phone # _

_617-555-2639_

Sally continued looking at the slip of paper. Maybe there was something she could do.

Back on the skydeck, Cody looked at his cell phone display and sighed. "That's probably Dad calling to yell at me..."

Bailey wrapped her arm around him. "Its okay. I'll be right here beside you."

Cody nodded and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"_Cody?"_

Cody was taken aback. "Mom?"

"_Look, I don't have long. Your father found out about you being on the boat with Bailey Pickett. And he's not happy..."_

"Mom, I know it sounds bad, but..."

"_Cody, your father is planning on us being in Hong Kong when you dock there to pull you and Zack off of the boat!"_

Cody sighed. "I was afraid of that..."

"_Cody, what were you thinking with this plan of yours?"_

"Mom, I had to. You have no idea how much I missed Bailey..." Cody looked at Bailey. "When we were apart, it felt like half of me was missing. I have that back now. I won't give it up!"

_Carey sighed. "Cody, you don't have much of a choice...You're father doesn't care."_

"He will if he ever wants to see me again once I turn 18..."

_Carey gasped. "Cody, you don't mean that!"_

"I sure do. He wants to rip someone I love away from me. I'll do the same thing to him..."

"_You love her?"_

"Yeah, Mom. I do. I love her. All we want is to be together..."

"_Cody, I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do, but I can't..."_

"I know, Mom. I appreciate the heads up though..."

"_Cody, don't do anything foolish..."_

"The only one being foolish is Dad. I'll do what I have to do...Goodbye, Mom."

And with that, Cody hung up.

Bailey just slowly rubbed his back. "I take it that's already too late in Boston?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Mom says Dad is planning on being in Hong Kong when we dock there to pull Zack and I off the boat. But don't worry, Bails. I'll think of something..."

"I believe you, Cody. And no matter what happens, I love you and always will..."

"I feel the same way..."

Just then, Cody's phone began to ring again. He looked down at it and saw a number he didn't recognize.

"620-555-3276...I've never heard of that number before..."

Bailey was shocked. "That's our home number on the farm!"

Cody was confused. "But you are the only one there who had my number..."

"Answer it!"

Cody nodded and answered. "Hello?"

"_Yes, is this Cody Martin?"_

Cody nodded. "Yes it is..."

"_This is Sally Pickett, Bailey's mother. Is my daughter close by?"_

"Yeah, she's right here..."

Cody handed his cell phone to Bailey and mouthed. "Its your Mom."

Bailey answered it. "Mom?"

_Sally sighed. "Bailey..."_

Bailey sighed. "I assume Daddy has seen the newsletter sent home..."

"_Oh yeah. And he's livid. In fact, he's coming to Hong Kong to personally pull you and Jen off of the boat when you dock..."_

Bailey shook her head. "Doesn't Daddy realize what I will do if he does?"

"_I tried to explain to him, but he's being so stubborn. He still hates the Martin family."_

"But Mom, I don't. I never did. In fact..." She looked at Cody. "I'm in love with one of them..."

_Sally sighed again. "Bailey, truly, I'm happy for you. But are you sure?"_

"Never been more sure of anything in my life. That's why I had to see Cody again. To quote someone wise, it was like half of me was missing without him..."

"_I wish there was something I could do, but your father is dead set on this..."_

"Does he remember what I said I would do when I turned 18? Because I mean that. I'm going to be with Cody and there is nothing he can do to stop me!"

"_Bailey...Be reasonable, please..."_

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't ask for this. But don't think I will go about this quietly. Goodbye." And with that, Bailey hung up.

Cody have her a sad smile. "I see yours went as well as mine did..."

Bailey nodded. "Cody, what are we going to do?"

Cody pulled her into his arms. "I don't know, Bails, I don't know. But, we'll think of something. We have to..."

The next few days, everyone tried to go on as normal, but they couldn't. Cody and Bailey weren't their normal selves in class. The didn't volunteer any more, and Miss Tutweiler was worried. Their homework was still fine, but that's because it had been done two weeks ago. But that's as far as they were. Since they found out about their fathers' plans, neither one of them had the heart to do anymore. The days passed, and neither was getting any closer to thinking of a plan.

Even Miss Tutweiler's presentation about the Titanic wasn't holding their interest, and it was a subject both Cody and Bailey loved. But for some reason, something about the presentation was sticking in Cody's mind, and he had no idea why. After class, he decided to take a walk along the deck trying to clear his mind so he could come up with something.

Halfway around the deck, Cody stopped dead in his tracks and turned to his right. Finally, what had been sticking in his mind made perfect sense. For the first time in days, a smile crossed Cody's face. He had a plan!

Quickly, he ran to Bailey's cabin. He knocked and heard a faint 'Come in'. Cody opened the door and found Bailey laying back on her bed staring off in space.

"Bails!"

Bailey sat up and noticed Cody was smiling. "What is it, Cody?"

"I have an idea!"

Bailey was beginning to get excited. "What? Tell me!"

"We do what we were going to do ten years ago...We run away!"

Bailey sat back and paused. "Ummm...Cody, we're on a ship. And our fathers will probably be on the dock waiting for us when we get there. There's no place for us to run..."

Cody kept smiling. "Yes, there is..."

"Where?"

"Bails, we dock in Hong Kong tomorrow afternoon, right?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah..."

"So, we are relatively close to land right now. And we'll be even closer at midnight..."

"Wait...Midnight?"

"Bailey. We take one of the lifeboats at midnight. We leave the ship and head to land ourselves somewhere besides Hong Kong. We blend in and make a life for ourselves. When we're 18, we can reappear when there is nothing our fathers can do about it..."

Bailey just looked at Cody. While the plan wasn't ideal, she did have to agree that is was better than anything she had thought of so far.

"Do you think we'll be able to make it on our own?"

Cody smiled again. "Bails, with the two of us together, there's nothing we can't do...Look, I know it won't be easy. But I can promise you this. I will do whatever it takes to stay with you. I love you. I don't want to lose you again..."

Bailey smiled too. "I don't want to lose you either..." She paused. "So, we leave at midnight, huh?"

Cody grinned and nodded. "Yeah. We'll sneak out of our cabins and meet up..."

"What about Jen and Zack?"

"We'll leave them notes and promise to contact them when we can..."

Bailey nodded. "Alright, I'll pack a small bag then..."

"I will too..."

Cody was about to leave, when he stopped, turned around and kissed Bailey.

"I promise you. You won't regret doing this..."

"Cody, as long as with you, I won't regret anything...I love you."

"I love you too." Cody paused and chuckled. "After ten years, we're finally running away..."

"Yeah, we are..."

_To be Continued..._


	14. The Escape

_Chapter 14_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

While Jen and Zack were both out of the cabins, Bailey and Cody quickly packed bags with the essentials they would need. They also emptied their backpacks. Bailey filled hers with food that wouldn't spoil, and Cody filled his with numerous bottles of water. Once that task was done, the both went to the on ship bank and closed their accounts so they would have cash. Thinking he would get back at his Dad, Cody took out the highest cash advance he could on the emergency credit card Kurt had given him. With that done, it was only a matter of waiting.

The rest of the day, Cody and Bailey acted as if nothing new had changed. They had to put on an air of sadness when around others, but when they were alone, both couldn't help but smile at each other. That night, in a show to others, they held each in a tight embrace. But out of earshot, they whispered to each other.

"So, what's the plan?"

"We go to bed like we normally would. Once Zack and Jen are asleep, we slip out of our rooms. I'll meet you on the skydeck at midnight, and we'll go from there."

Bailey smiled into Cody's shoulder. "Yeah, we'll go live our lives without people telling us that its not okay to love each other..."

"Baby, if loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right..."

Bailey had to do everything she could to stifle a giggle. "Okay, Cody, even for you, that was cheesy..."

"I know. But in all seriousness, Bails, I will do whatever it takes to be with you..."

"So, will I..."

"See you in a couple of hours then...I love you."

"Love you too."

Cody and Bailey pulled apart. Bailey went in her cabin, and Jen could feel her heart breaking watching the display. For his part, Zack just put his arm around Cody's shoulder and walked him back to their cabin.

All four went to bed at their normal times. At 11:45, Cody felt the vibrating alarm on his cell phone go off. He looked over, and he saw Zack slumbering away. Cody quietly slipped out of bed. Quickly, he changed back into his clothes. After slinging his back back over his shoulders and grabbing his bag, he spend a moment just watching Zack sleep. He walked over and placed an envelope on top of Zack's keys and wallet so he would find it. Making his way to the door, he turned back one last time. He whispered. "Zack, I'm sorry. This is the only way. I hope you understand..." And with that, he slipped out his cabin.

In Bailey and Jen's cabin, Bailey was on her side staring at her rooster alarm clock. She knew she was going to miss it, but she was gladly willing to part with it if it meant getting to be with Cody. When it turned 11:45, she quietly slipped out of bed and changed back into her clothes. She placed a letter beside Jen's purse. Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, she grabbed her bag and made her way to the door. Before heading out, she turned one last time to look at Jen. "I'm sorry, Jen. But I have to do what is right for me and Cody. I know you will understand..." And with that, she slipped out of her cabin.

Making their way to the darkened skydeck, both slowly looked around for each other.

Still whispering, "Cody?"

"Bails?"

Bailey smiled and followed the direction of Cody's voice. When she got closer, she could see him. And seeing her approach, Cody smiled back at her.

"You ready to do this?"

"Yeah, I am..."

Cody took her hands in his. "Bails, I wish we had another option. And I know I'm asking you to give up everything to be with me. And...and I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to change your mind..."

Bailey smiled back at him. "Yeah, I'm giving up a lot...But, I'm keeping the most important thing in the world to me. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you in my life. So, I say let's go!"

Cody smiled back at her. "Let's go then!"

Cody and Bailey slowly made their way over to one of the lifeboats. When the coast was clear, they both slipped into one of the lifeboats, the curtain on it providing them cover. They waited until Kirby made his latest round and pressed the release button. Soon, the lifeboat was being lowered. Once in the water, the removed the cover over the lifeboat and began sailing away from the S.S. Tipton.

However, their escape didn't go unnoticed. Seems Cody and Bailey weren't the only ones out after curfew. James was out on the deck, leaning over the railing, doing some thinking. The past few days had been pure hell for him. Once word had gotten out about how he screwed Cody and Bailey over, he was persona non grata around the ship. Everyone was sneering at him and giving him dirty looks. Even the teachers and other crew members were too. He had pretty much decided that once the boat docked, he was getting off and going home. It was time to move on with his life. The girl he loved absolutely despised him now. He had never seen so much hate in someone's eyes as he did when Bailey had gone off on him. If Cody hadn't stopped her, he had literally feared what she would do. But even James had to notice how Bailey's demeanor changed when she looked at Cody. He had to admit to himself that Bailey really did love Cody. And from everything he had seen, Cody loved her just as much. So with that, James decided it was time to move on with his life.

He was about to head back to his cabin to finish packing when he noticed something. There was a lifeboat floating away from the ship. He couldn't see much, but he could tell there were two people on the boat. Looking around, he noticed one of the sets of binoculars stationed around the decks. Quickly, he ran over to it and put a quarter in. Focusing on the ship, he tried to see who was on the boat. Thankfully, there was a full moon, so there was some light. And that's when James saw who was on the life boat – Cody and Bailey. Immediately, James turned and began to run.

Back in his cabin, Zack woke up to use the bathroom. Once he was done, he stumbled back to bed. Glancing over, he noticed Cody's bed was empty. Zack paused and shook his head to wake himself up. Zack began to look around and noticed Cody's backpack was missing too. Looking around even more, a lot of Cody's keepsakes were gone too. Zack was beginning to get concerned. And that's when he saw it – an envelope lying on his desk. Quickly, Zack opened it and read it.

_Zack,_

_By the time you read this letter, I will be gone. Bailey and I are leaving the ship so we can be together. I can only hope you understand why we had to do this. Zack, you were right. I do love her. You remember, I was so lost without her. I refuse to be without her again, so we're making sure that doesn't happen. We didn't tell you about our plan so you can deny knowing anything when Mom and Dad show up tomorrow. Tell Dad if he wants to live his life without love and compassion, that's fine. But I refuse to do the same. But this isn't goodbye forever. Once we're 18, we'll be back. Then, there is nothing Dad or Bailey's Dad can do about it. Take care of yourself. And if you can, take care of Jen. Don't think I don't know that you really like her. I will tell you this. Listen to your heart. It will never lead you astray. I love you, Zack. You are and will forever be my brother._

_Until we meet again,_

_Cody_

By now, Zack was fully awake and in full blown panic mode. What had Cody and Bailey been thinking? He had no time to ponder that. He had to get up to the girl's cabin to see if he could catch them before it was too late. Even if he couldn't stop them, he could at least say a proper goodbye.

Zack quickly ran to the girl's cabin, and he gently knocked on the door. A few minutes later, a half asleep Jen opened the door.

"Zack? What are you doing here?"

"Is Bailey still here?"

Jen looked at him funny. "Of course she is..." She turned towards Bailey's bed and saw it empty. "Wait...where is she?"

Zack sighed. "I think I have a good idea. I'm pretty sure she left you a note too..."

"A note?"

Zack quickly looked around and saw an envelope placed against her purse. "There it is."

Jen walked over, picked the envelope up and opened it. Pulling the letter out, she read it.

_Jen,_

_By the time you read this, I will be gone. Cody and I are leaving the ship so we can be together. I know you know why I'm doing this. Jen, I love him and can't be apart from him any more. It about killed me the first time. I hope this will serve as a wake up call for Daddy. He has to know we are capable of living our own lives. Maybe now he won't interfere in your life now that he knows what he has to lose. And I know you like Zack. You will never admit it, but its true. Maybe I can make things easier once you decide to follow your heart. And I won't be gone forever. Once we're 18, we'll be back. Until then, take care of yourself. And take care of Zack. And tell him I promise to take care of Cody as Cody has promised you he will take care of me. I love you, Jen, and I hope you understand why I'm doing this._

_Your loving sister,_

_Bailey_

Jen folded the letter up and turned back to Zack. "They're gone!"

Zack nodded. "I know. I was hoping to catch them before they did..."

Jen sighed. "What do we do?"

Zack shook his head. "I'm not sure there is anything we can do. Its 3 AM. I was asleep by 11:30. That's three and a half hours head start. They could be anywhere right now..."

"So, what can we do?"

"Just tell our parents that they are gone when they get here..."

Jen nodded. "I actually hope they do get away..."

"Me too...I just wish I could have said goodbye..."

Meanwhile, James is in a life boat of his own. He was floating along, and using the binoculars in the boat, he tried to find the boat Cody and Bailey were on. But, he was having absolutely no luck doing that. As his frustration grew, he heard something else he didn't want to hear – a crack of thunder. Soon, the wind picked up, and James didn't like what he thought was happening.

But there was nothing he could do. The wind kept picking up, and the ocean was getting choppier and choppier. The pelting rain came next. James knew then that this had been a bad idea. He was in the middle of a bad storm, and there was nothing he could do about it.

James looked to his left and saw a huge wave about to break over him. He just closed his eyes.

_To be Continued..._


	15. The Aftermath

_Chapter 15_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

The next morning was a Saturday, so with no classes, Zack and Jen met on the skydeck early. They weren't sure what the day would bring, but they were both glad they would have each other to deal through everything with.

"When do you think our parents will be here?"

Jen sighed. "Knowing my Dad, he was on the dock waiting for them to lower the gang plank..."

Zack nodded. "I wouldn't put that past my Dad either..."

"Are you ready for this?"

"Ready or not, we'll have to be..."

On the dock, two sets of parents were almost running towards the gang plank when they almost ran into each other.

"Martin..."

"Pickett..."

George smirked. "Don't worry, very soon my daughters will be away from the influences of your two hooligans..."

Kurt smirked right back. "I believe it will be my sons that will be away from the influence of your jezebels..."

Both of their wives just sighed. "Does everything have to be a fight with you two? George, our daughter loves their son. I still think this is a huge mistake..."

Carey nodded. "Sally's right, Kurt. If you insist on doing this, there is a good chance you will lose Cody forever..."

Both husbands turned to their wives and spoke at the same time. "I know what's best for my children!"

Meanwhile, back in the lobby, Mr. Moseby was working at his desk. Kirby quickly came running up to him.

"Mr. Moseby!"

Moseby looked up. "What is it Kirby?"

"We have a major problem! Two of our lifeboats disappeared sometime overnight!"

"What do you mean disappeared?"

"They're gone!"

Moseby sighed. Things like this never happened at the Tipton. "I'm sure it was probably just a prank. Go check the surveillance tapes and find out what happened..."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Moseby..."

"And Kirby?"

"Yes?"

"No stopping for breakfast first!"

As soon as Kirby ran off, his presence was replaced by four adults. Two he immediately recognized as Kurt and Carey Martin. The other two he didn't recognize.

"Kurt...Carey...this is a pleasant surprise. Did the boys know you were coming?"

Kurt nodded. "They sure did. Can you tell us where they are?"

Moseby paused to think. "I believe I saw Zack up on the skydeck not too long ago..."

The other man spoke up. "I'm George Pickett. Can you tell me where my daughters Bailey and Jen are?"

"Well, I saw Jen up on the skydeck with Zack. I haven't seen Bailey or Cody either one yet this morning..."

The four adults nodded and waited for the elevator in silence. Once the door opened, they all rode up together in silence.

Back on the skydeck, Zack and Jen were still sitting there, both feeling like they were waiting their turns for the gallows. Both happened to look up to see their parents walking straight towards them.

Kurt spoke up first. "Zack! Go pack your bags! I'm getting you and Cody off of the boat ASAP!"

George was right behind him. "Jen, you too! I don't want you two associating with these Martins!"

Zack and Jen looked at each other and sighed.

"There's a problem...Cody and Bailey are gone..."

Kurt erupted. "What do you mean they are gone?"

Jen finished. "We both found notes during the course of the night. They ran away with each other..."

Sally was shocked. "What?"

George just shook his head. "This is a boat! Where in the hell could they run off too?"

About that time, Moseby had made his way onto the deck. Kurt and George immediately ran over to him.

"Moseby! I entrusted my sons to you, and you allowed one of them to run away overnight!"

George was furious too. "The same with my daughter, Bailey!"

Moseby was confused. "What are you talking about? We were at sea until about an hour ago. There is no where they could have run too..." He paused. "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Well...I was told that two of our lifeboats disappeared over night..."

Zack immediately turned to Jen. "Two?"

Jen had a small smile. "That was brilliant...They released two. One they were in and a decoy..."

Zack paused to think about it and gently laughed. "Not bad, Bro...not bad..."

Of course, Kurt and George were berating Moseby for being so irresponsible and for not watching their kids better. And Moseby was only saved by the return of Kirby. Both fathers backed off at the appearance of the large security guard.

Moseby sighed and turned to Kirby. "Let me guess...the videos showed Cody Martin and Bailey Pickett getting into one of the lifeboats?"

Kirby nodded in amazement. "Yeah! How did you know that?"

"And the other one?"

"The other had that James kid getting into it..."

Moseby shook his head. Why in the world would James get into one? Looking at the two irate fathers, Moseby had a pretty good idea what Cody and Bailey were thinking, but no clue about James' rationale. He turned back to Kirby.

"What time did they leave?"

"Cody and Bailey at about 12:30 this morning and James about thirty minutes later..."

Moseby paused to think. "Okay, its about 9:00 AM now. That gives them less than a nine hour head start. Get the Air and Sea Rescue on this ASAP and see if you can find them..."

Kirby headed off, and Zack and Jen spoke up.

"I don't think you are going to find them..."

Both of their fathers turned and glared at them. "What do you mean?"

Jen smirked back at them. "We mean Cody and Bailey are both very smart and resourceful. I can almost guarantee they've been planning this for a while. Plus, they have two are things in their favor..."

Zack nodded. "Determination and True Love. You two may not care, but everyone around here knows how those two feel about each other. Besides being head over heels for each other, they are also best friends..."

Kurt and George just glare at each other. They were about to rip into each other again when Moseby got between them.

"Look...Arguing right now won't solve anything. Why don't you both just go to your separate corners and wait till we hear something back..."

George and Kurt both grunt before turning and walking their separate directions. Both of their wives sighed and followed them. Zack and Jen just sat back down at the smoothie bar.

Jen turned to Zack. "You really think they're going to make it?"

Zack paused. "The way those two are acting, I sure hope so. Both need to be brought down a few rungs..."

Jen smiled. "I agree..." Then she paused. "But even if they do, what happens to us?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't know. I really don't want to think about it..."

"Why not?"

Zack paused and decided to be honest. "Well, Jen...in case you haven't noticed, I've grown pretty fond of having you around..."

Jen couldn't help but grin back at him. "I have to admit, I have too...You're not nearly as vile and deplorable as I initially thought..."

"Thanks...I think..."

"Promise me that no matter what happens, we'll stay in touch..."

"You think our Dads will allow that?"

Jen paused. "I don't know, but we'll figure something out..."

For the next several hours, everyone stayed in their separate areas. Finally, a man in a military style jumpsuit walked on to the skydeck. Immediately, everyone got up and ran over to him.

Moseby spoke up. "What did you find?"

"Well, we only found one of the boats...and it was capsized..."

Everyone just stared at him in shock. Moseby finally spoke again.

"Did you...did you find anything?"

The man nodded. "We did..." He opened up a bag and pulled out two articles of clothing.

Zack's eyes went wide. "That's Cody's Boston Holmies sweatshirt!"

Jen's eyes were just as wide. "And that's Bailey's Buck's Bait and Beauty Barn sweatshirt!"

_To be Continued..._


	16. Saying Goodbye

_Chapter 16_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

Immediately, Zack and Jen both looked up at the rescue officer. "What aren't you still out there looking for them then?"

"We are...but, I have to say, we don't hold out much hope..."

Carey cried out. "Why not? You have to save my baby!"

There was a pause. "Where we found their boat was miles and miles away from any land...and...it's shark infested waters..."

That caused everyone to go silent.

"We will continue to look, but I wanted you all to know what we are dealing with..."

The rescue officer turned and headed back out. Everyone continued to be quiet except for Moseby.

"I know this must be a difficult time for you all. I was actually quite fond of the both of them as well. I'll see to it that you all have complimentary cabins while you wait to hear further word..."

The rest of the day was nothing but waiting and waiting. No one wanted to go to sleep because they wanted to be there in case there was news. But eventually, they did head to the cabins once they were assured that they would be notified immediately of any changes. Zack and Jen were both deep in thought, and both hadn't really noticed that they had all but been forgotten about. As everyone left, Zack stopped Jen.

"Ummm...If you don't feel like being alone tonight, you're more than willing to stay in my cabin tonight..."

Jen paused. "Well..."

"No funny business, I promise. I know I'm not going to get any sleep, and from the looks of it, you aren't either. I just thought you might want someone to sit up with and talk to..."

Jen nodded. "Yeah, that would actually be nice..."

For the rest of the night and into early morning, no one slept. For Zack and Jen, they just sat around the guys' cabins and shared stories about Cody and Bailey. Being able to do that did actually make them feel better. Of course, the stories couldn't last all night. Towards dawn, they both were just sitting back on Zack's bed. Both were just staring into space, not realizing that Jen had her head on Zack's shoulder or that Zack had his arm wrapped around her.

Bright and early, everyone gathered again on the skydeck to wait even more. Everyone just turned as they saw the rescue officer returning to talk to them.

"Did you find them?"

"We found the boy, James. He had washed up on a tiny island where we found him a few hours ago. According to him, he saw Cody and Bailey sailing off in a lifeboat, and he went to follow them. But he got caught in a storm. We believe that is what happened to Cody and Bailey as well..."

Sally was getting agitated. "But you are still looking for them, right?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We have no evidence to believe they survived. We've called off our search, and we are presuming them dead..."

Everyone was still silent as tears began to form in their eyes. Kurt and George both felt lumps growing in their throats. Both didn't want to accept the fact that their children were dead. And both turned to their remaining children to try to take comfort in them. But both were surprised when Zack and Jen pushed them away.

"Zack..."

"What? Am I next?"

"But..."

"But nothing! You're responsible for Cody's death! You just couldn't let him live his life in the way he wanted to! Dad, these past few months on board, I've never seen Cody so happy. And the reason for that? Bailey! He loved her!"

Jen glared at her Dad. "And Bailey felt the same way! There was a smile permanently affixed to her face! She honest to God loved him! But oh no, that wasn't good enough for you! You just had to think you knew better..." She glared at Kurt too. "That you both knew what was best for everyone. Well, I hope you both are happy now...Their blood is on both of your hands!""

Zack just shook his head. "So, now that we've seen how you really care about your children, just leave us alone! Forget we exist!"

Carey spoke up. "But Zack..."

"But nothing! You're not innocent here either, Mom. You could have put a stop to this stupid family feud at any time you wanted, but you did nothing. That makes you just as guilty..."

Jen glared at her mother. "Same with you, Mom! Maybe if you would have stood up to Dad, you could have knocked some sense into him. But no, you just sat back and let this happen..."

Both mothers just looked at each other with shame and guilt on their faces. Carey finally spoke. "You're right...I should have done something..."

Sally nodded. "I should have too..." She paused as tears ran down her face. "And now its too late..."

George and Kurt still weren't about to give up. George spoke up. "Come on now. You know I never meant this to happen. I just didn't want Bailey to date one of those treacherous Martins..."

Sally turned and glared at him. "Treacherous? You both were fighting to keep your jobs. Kurt just happened to be the one they chose. But no, you couldn't accept that you just didn't win. It had to be because of someone else screwing you over..."

Carey glared at Kurt. "And you couldn't be a gracious winner. You had to go tit for tat and rub the salt into the wounds. And even if it was warranted, Bailey never did anything to you! All she did was be our son's best friend. And she dared see how wonderful he was and want to be with him. Damn her for that!"

Sarah continued. "And Cody was the same way with Bailey!"

Both moms turned to their children. "We're sorry. I know its a little too late for that now, but we are..."

Zack was still angry. "Well, you can both think again if you think I'm heading back to Boston with you. Right now, you both make me sick! I will forever blame you both for the death of my brother!"

Kurt paused. The full ramifications with his feud with George Pickett was finally crashing down upon him. He had just lost one son permanently, and it looked like he was losing his other one. "Is there any way you will ever forgive us?"

Zack paused to think. "Maybe someday. But until then, give me space. Just go on back to Boston without me. Let me stay right here..."

Jen nodded. "That's what I want too. If you want my forgiveness, let me live my life the way I so choose. If not..."

The ramifications were beginning to hit George as well. His Bailey was now gone, and Jen could only look at him with anger and hate. Looking back, he realized his obsession with the Martins had gone too far. While he still didn't like Kurt Martin, he knew had had to back off or Jen would be as lost to him as Bailey now was. "Fine. If you want to stay here, that is your decision, and I will respect it. I just hope one day you will try to forgive me."

The next day, a memorial service was held on deck for Cody and Bailey. Both Zack and Jen both got up to speak about their siblings, but neither could continue without breaking down and crying. James had wanted to say something, by Zack and Jen refused to allow him to do so.

"You are just as responsible for their deaths as our parents are! If I were you, I would move far, far away!"

James could only nod. His own guilt about what happened was eating him alive. But he knew now it was impossible that Bailey would ever forgive him. He had accepted her heart belonged to Cody, but all he had wanted to do was try to make up for what he had done. But he knew he was no longer welcome at Seven Seas High.

The Picketts and the Martins both left the ship afterwards without getting to say goodbye to Zack and Jen. Both felt they had said everything they had needed to say to them already.

A couple of weeks later, it was Zack's birthday. He was just sitting on the skydeck by himself, just staring at the vast ocean. From behind him, someone set down a lone cupcake with a candle in front of him. He looked up and saw Jen.

Jen smiled at him. "Happy Birthday, Zack!"

Zack smiled back at her. "Thanks..."

Jen sat down next to him. "I know...We should be celebrating three people's birthdays..."

Zack nodded. "Yeah..."

Jen paused. "Think of it this way...I'm sure wherever they are right now, they're together..."

"I hope so..."

Jen smiled. "I bet their looking down on us right now..."

Zack nodded again. "Maybe...It would be nice to think that Cody was my guardian angel..."

"The best thing we can do is to live our lives in ways that would make them proud of us..."

"I know. I've decided I'm going to start taking school more serious now. Cody won't be able to go to college now, but that's one thing I can do for him..."

Jen smiled again. "You know, there may be hope for you yet..."

Zack had to smile at that. "That's twice now you've told me that..."

"Because its true. You aren't the same guy I met that first night on the lido deck..."

"I hope not. I know its only been a few months since then, but it seems so long ago."

"I know. A lot has happened since then...both good and bad..."

"Yeah...I'm really glad we're friends. You're the closest thing I have to family now..."

Jen nodded. "I know how you feel..."

Zack paused and laughed. "Just think. We seemed to be on a path to becoming in-laws..."

"I guarantee we would have been..."

"But I guess it wasn't meant to be. I guess life had something else planned..."

"I guess...What do you think it has planned for us now?"

"No idea...I just hope there is no more woe..."

"You and me both...you and me both..."

_And thus brings a close to our not so happy little tale,_

_Two people in love, but star crossed to fail,_

_And as they now rest in their watery graves,_

_Some may still hear the sounds on the crashing waves,_

_Of a story of true love and resulting woe,_

_That was Bailey and her Co-dy.  
_

_The End_


	17. True Love Never Dies

_Chapter 17_

We don't any of these characters except ones we create.

Two years had passed, and Zack was again on the skydeck doing his homework. From behind him, someone came up and wrapped their arms around him and kissed his cheek. A big smile formed on his face.

"Hey, Sweet Thang..."

Jen swatted his shoulder. "You know I hate it when you call me that..."

Zack grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap before leaning down and placing a big kiss upon her lips. When he pulled back he was grinning.

"I thought you liked it better than Skinny Jenny..."

Jen laughed. "Well, yeah...but..."

"I was just teasing you anyways...But you still are a total babe..."

Jen rolled her eyes. "Why did I ever agree to go out with you?"

"As I recall, it was you who kissed me first..."

"A moment of pure weakness..."

Zack laughed. "Then you've had a lot of those the past couple of years..."

Jen laughed too. "Touche...Must be something about you Martin boys that just appeals to us Pickett girls..."

As innocent of a comment as it was, both fell silent remembering they were the only Pickett-Martin combination left.

"Sorry...I shouldn't have said that."

"Its okay. I don't think a day will go by that we don't think of Cody and Bailey. After all, today would have been all three of ours 18th birthdays..."

Jen nodded. "The day their nightmare would have finally ended..."

Zack lifted her chin. "But their dream is going to live on. I've busted my hump – with your help of course – to get into Yale..."

Jen smiled at him. "I know...You have no idea how proud of you I am..."

"What about you? Taking summer school classes so you could graduate with me. I wasn't about to go to New Haven without you..."

"You're darn right you weren't..." She grinned. "I've finally gotten you trained to be a respectable gentleman. You think I'm going to risk some other girl swooping in and reaping the rewards of my hard work?"

Zack leaned in and kissed her again. "Would never happen..."

"Good. So, its your 18th birthday. What would you like to do today?"

Zack grinned. "Oh, I don't know...I'm rather enjoying what I'm doing right now..."

"Good answer..." Jen leaned in and kissed Zack again.

However, they were interrupted.

"Geez! Do you two ever give it a rest? You two are as bad as Cody and Bailey are!"

Zack and Jen turn and see London strolling over to them. Both couldn't help but wince hearing London say 'are' instead of 'were'.

"Hey London..."

London smiled. "Hey guys...Happy Birthday, Zack..."

"Thanks, London...I appreciate it."

"I have a birthday gift for you up in my suite..."

"You didn't have to get me anything, London..."

London grinned. "Consider it a gift for the both of you..."

Zack and Jen looked at each other in confusion. Curiosity was getting the best of them.

"Alright, London...Lets go..."

London, Jen and Zack made their way up to London's cabin. London unlocked the door, but before she opened it, she turned back to Zack and Jen.

"Zack, if you could have one thing for your birthday, what would it be?"

Zack paused to think. "I would have to think about that for a bit..."

London grinned. "I'm talking anything in the world, no matter how impossible or ludicrous it seemed..."

Zack paused for a moment again. "That would be easy...I'd want Jen and I to be able to see Cody and Bailey again..."

London winked at him. "Right answer..."

_Flashback_

_Cody and Bailey were in the ship's bank clearing out their accounts. As they turned to leave counting their money, they ran right into London._

"_Cody! When did you start carrying around large amounts of cash...like I do?"_

_Cody turned to Bailey before addressing London. "Well...ummm...you see..."_

_London just looked at him. "Cody...What is going on?"_

_Cody stammered._ "_Nothing...Absolutely nothing..."_

"_Yeah, right...Something is definitely going on. I've known you too long not to know that. But if you won't tell me, maybe I'll go ask Zack..."_

"_NO! You can't do that!"_

_London smirked at him. "Then I suggest you tell me what's going on right now!"_

_Cody turned to Bailey and she shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, but can we find some place a little more private to talk?"_

_London nodded. "My suite will work..." And with that, London lead Cody and Bailey up to her suite and closed the door behind them._

"_Alright...Spill!"_

_After Cody and Bailey swore London to secrecy, they filled her in on what their plan was going to be._

_London just stared at them. "You two are serious?"_

_Cody and Bailey nodded. "Yes, we are..."_

"_You two really love each other that much, huh?"_

_Cody and Bailey smiled at each other. "Absolutely..."_

_London paused. "Well, your plan sucks!"_

"_What else can we do? Our parents will be here tomorrow to pull us apart!"_

_London grinned. "I'm London Tipton, remember...Give me an hour to make some phone calls..."_

_An hour later, London closed her cell phone and looked up at Cody and Bailey with a smile._

"_Everything is taken care of!"_

_Cody was leery. "What is?"_

_London hands Cody one of her numerous cell phones._

"_Keep that turned on. It has a GPS tracker in it. My shoe submarine will follow you both. Once away from the ship, it will surface and pick you up. Leave some clothing in lifeboat so when they find it, they'll know it was the one you're in. The submarine will drop you off in a small port where a Tipton jet and new identifications will be waiting for you both. You will be taken to London, England where a private boarding school is awaiting your arrival. For the next two years, you will live there, and when you both turn 18, I'll bring you back here..."_

_Cody and Bailey just stared at London in awe. "London..."_

_London grinned. "I know...Yay me!"_

_Bailey smiled at her. "Why are you doing this for us?"_

_London smiled. "I know true love when I see it. Besides, Cody is a dear friend of mine. He's one of the few people I know who have accepted me for who I am and not because I'm rich. I've seen how he is with you and how happy you make him..."_

"_He makes me just as happy..."_

"_Good..."_

_Cody shook his head and smiled. "London, what can we ever do to thank you for all of this?" _

"_Well, there are two things...First, when you return, I want exclusive rights to your story for Yay Me!"_

_Bailey smiled. "Consider it done!"_

"_Second...I want an invitation to the wedding!"_

_Cody and Bailey both blushed at that. Cody turned to Bailey and smiled. "Consider that done as well..."_

London opened the door for Zack and Jen. Both began walking into the suite when they both stopped dead in their tracks. Standing in front of them were Cody and Bailey locked in a kiss, oblivious to what was going on around them.

London cleared her throat.

Cody and Bailey broke apart and turned to the door. Immediately, they saw Zack and Jen staring there with both of the mouths wide open in shock.

Bailey grinned. "Hey guys..."

Cody grinned too. "We said we'd be back on our 18th birthdays..."

London wrapped her arms around Zack and Jen's shoulders. "See...I told you that you two were as bad as they are..."

_The End! For Real this Time!_

**Authors' Note: Yes, this story was based on Romeo & Juliet. And if William Shakespeare, we would have ended our story with Chapter 16. But, we aren't Willie S. And we like happy endings. So, that being said, what happens when Zack and Jen finally regain their voices is up to your imaginations.**** By the way...I thought I was clever by not labeling the story as complete. I didn't think anyone would notice, but I guess I was wrong LOL.**_  
_


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